The Adventures of Tintin: The Mystery of the Violet Ibis
by SkyDragon2996
Summary: As the typical adventurer, there is nothing that would ever stand in the way of our fellow reporter Tintin. However, everything changes when Tintin is afflicted with a mysterious illness. Destined to find a cure, our young adventurer learns of an ancient Norse legend known as the violet ibis. Soon, Tintin will journey to the vast regions of Norway, in the hopes of finding a cure.
1. The Light

Chapter 1: The Light

The waves of the churning ocean rolled endlessly and crashed in the centuries-old Norwegian sea stacks. Fierce winds seemed to cause trees to sway back and forth violently, making them more fragile than tiny twigs in a bird's nest. The clouds almost seemed to conceal the blinding whiteness of the moon's rays. The ocean waves then brought about a ship full of armed soldiers bound to a small ledge of rigid rock just outside of Norway. This island was the Island of Secrets.

"Are you sure this was a good idea? I can't imagine what could happen that could jeopardize this whole operation," one of the lieutenants asked a general, who was rigid in stature yet gentle in stoicism. "Yes," the general replied. "We've come to see if the violet ibis really does exists." "But sir, the violet ibis is nothing but a myth. If we come to this island find nothing but shrubbery and trees, we'll be a joke," the lieutenant said.

"The violet ibis? A myth? Nonsense," the general insisted. "This flower is said to cure a multitude of many illnesses. If we can find it, we'll bring it back to Hardanger County. We'll take the flower directly to medical institutions all across town. Once they see the ibis's healing abilities, we'll change the world. Ain't that right, my dear Lesley?" The girl, Lesley, wearing a blue and gray fur-lined parka, silently nodded.

"General!" a soldier shouted. "We've just made port on the island!" "All right," the general said. Turning to his elite and armed forces, he said, "Gentlemen! We have gathered here for one sole purpose in this land. That purpose is to find the ibis and bring it back to civilization and cure the world of its troubles! Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sergeant!" every soldier replied.

Soon after, the soldiers all poured out of the ship in a net and orderly fashion. The general, meanwhile, took his daughter Lesley along and caught up with each soldier and began marching through the dense entanglement of trees and shrubs. "Search the forest!" the general cried. "Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the ibis! No exceptions! Understand?" "Aye sir!" each and every soldier replied.

Soon, the soldiers all spilt up and began to search each part of the forest in an effort to obtain the ibis. Lesley, in her part, yawned lazily. She did not want to meddle in such affairs like this. Instead of helping out the other soldiers, she insisted on walking through the woods alone. Surrounded by nature, she was able to find her inner self. She wanted to become one with the woods.

Suddenly, a beam of light had startled Lesley. Curiously, she walked toward the light. She kept walking and walking until she came across a clear part of the woods where, in the center, lay a stone pedestal containing a large and beautiful flower of white, purple, and gold. It seemed to glow within the moonlight of the night sky. "The ibis of the ancient legend!" she whispered. It must be it!"

Curiously, she edged closer to the flower and kneeled over it. She gently caressed the ibis within her gloved hands, stroking the soft petals. "I can't believe it," she whispered gently. "The violet ibis. It really does exist. I never knew the ibis could be so beautiful." She sat there for a minute, kneeling down and gently touching the ibis with her gloved hands.

That was when she noticed a drop of gold-laced nectar on her glove. She wondered if the nectar was edible, so she tasted it, licking her glove clean. The nectar tasted sweet, almost like peaches with a hint of honey. No sooner had she licked her glove clean that something extraordinary happened. After lapping up each drop of nectar, her hand began to tremble. Her hand started to glow. Lesley gasped in shock. Suddenly, she saw something before her. Was it a woman? A spirit? Was it…?

"My child," a female voice had said. "Wha…?" Lesley turned and looked around, but no one was there. "You finally found it," the voice said. "Who are you?" Lesley demanded "Show yourself!" "You have found the entity that empowers my land," the voice said breathily. "Now I must endow you as the keeper of the ibis." Lesley then saw two hands forming. They were reaching out for her! Lesley gasped. Then, bright light.

The light seemed to startle the other soldiers in turn. "What was that?" one soldier said. "It must be the ibis!" another soldier said. "Come on, men!" a soldier cried out. "We must be getting closer to the ibis!" In a rather large group, the soldiers all raced to find the source in which the light came from. They were searching half the forest for the source of the blinding light. Soon, they had reached the center of the woods, where Lesley had been.

"Was that where the ibis was?" one soldier said. The general hesitated. "The ibis, it's gone!" he said. "But how could it have disappeared?" The other soldiers began to search. That was when the general had realized that Lesley was missing. He searched everywhere for her, looking under trees, bushes, and stones. After a frantic search, he shouted her name in the sky: "LESLEY!"

And just like that, that was how the mystery of the ibis came to light. The general was so ashamed of Lesley's disappearance that he never ate in days. He refused to sleep, and he tried drinking whiskey to drown out his sorrows. But consuming large amounts of alcohol had only presented him with depression and senseless emotion. He had become so weak and undernourished that he had retired early from his service in the army. And after a few months, he had died from drunkenness and depression. And that was just the beginning; soon, the ibis's mystery had come to light.


	2. The Sudden Affliction

Chapter two: The Affliction

Two days later, in another part of Europe, the morning sun had begun to rise in the sedate little town of Brussels. A calm morning breeze started to blow across small piles of auburn-colored leaves, scattering them across the sky like tiny kites in various shades of amber. And as usual, people began their businesses early, opening their shops and embracing the shades of morning glory.

On the other side of the village, in Labrador Road, a single brown leaf soon snapped itself free from a tree branch and blew itself into an open window of a middle-class apartment. The tiny leaf then flew across a well-kept living room, and then made its way through an open door into the bedroom. Meanwhile, Tintin, who was one of the best traveling reporters ever known, was sleeping on his bed. In fact, he was so sleepy that he did not notice the leaf floating in the air. The leaf, in turn, had cut its journey short and came to rest on Tintin's nose. Without warning, he let out a rather formidable sneeze.

Realizing it was already morning, Tintin sat upright on his bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning lazily. "Uuuuhhh, is it morning already?" he mumbled to himself. "I must have slept late last night." Meanwhile, his little dog Snowy scrambled through the doorway and climbed up the bed. "Good morning old boy," Tintin said sleepily while petting Snowy's head. "Well, I guess it's time to get up now." Stretching his arms, Tintin got out of bed, put on his bedroom slippers, and sauntered over to the bathroom.

After washing his face at the sink, Tintin went straight to brushing his teeth. Even the minty scent that made its way directly into his mouth made Tintin even more tired than ever. But he awakened later on as he gargled water in his mouth and rinsed it. After spitting out the water, Tintin checked his teeth in the mirror. Then, he stuck out his tongue to see if it was clean as well. Suddenly, Tintin let out a cry of fright. Right there, on the edge of his tongue, was a large, red, and swollen lump.

"What the…?" Tintin said as he examined the lump even closer. "That's odd. Why haven't I noticed this before?" As Tintin touched the lump, he winced in pain. A sharp sting escaped from the lump. "Ow! That really does hurt!" he said. "Maybe this is a problem. I ought to go and have this thing checked." Tintin then made a brief change of clothes, grabbed a piece of bread with jam, and whistled for Snowy. "Come on Snowy. We're just gonna make a quick trip to the doctor," Tintin said. Then, he headed out of his apartment.

Pretty soon, at the doctor's office, the doctor carefully examined the swollen lump on Tintin's tongue. "Hmm, very strange," the doctor said. "And did you experience any numbness or white coating on your tongue this morning?" "No," Tintin said. "Or did you have any allergic reaction from what you ate yesterday?" the doctor asked. "I ate a sandwich yesterday, and nothing even happened," Tintin said. "All I know is that this lump really hurts."

"Well, I'm no dentist, but I think it was just a cold sore," the doctor said. "Just a cold sore?" Tintin asked. "Yes, I think it must have developed somewhere," the doctor told him. "And I would suggest it'll wear off in a few days." "You hear that, Snowy? I'm just fine!" Tintin said. "It was just a cold sore!" Snowy barked joyfully.

But the lump on Tintin's tongue was only the beginning, because over the next few days, Tintin began to experience some strange and unusual symptoms. And these symptoms just came out of nowhere.

On the second day, Tintin had woken up with itchy, red eyes. "Auuuggghh! My eyes! They're burning like live coals in my face!" Tintin said while running to the bathroom and continuously washing his eyes. He even tried to put some eye droppers on his eyes, but to his own disadvantage, they were of no use to him. He had also tried rubbing facial cream under his eyelids, but that ended up bringing more and more pain into his eyes as well. Feeling so ashamed by the appearance of the red patches under his eyes, Tintin had no choice but to wear sunglasses everywhere he went to avoid attracting attention.

On the third day, the itchiness in Tintin's eyes seemed to disappear, but something else had taken a toll on him. One day, while writing a recent newspaper article, Tintin suddenly felt an irritation in his hands. Hours went by, and the itching seemed to grown even worse. Tintin has no idea what it was, but he could not bear to survive the irritation that invaded his hands. He ran to put some itching cream on his hands. That was when he realized that there were huge black and dark red markings growing on his hands like small leeches. At that moment in time, Tintin had to resort to wearing gloves as a solution.

On the fourth day, another unusual symptom had managed to find its way into Tintin's body. One day, while Tintin was out walking with his little dog Snowy, he felt a slight shiver in his chest. He thought it was cold, so he buttoned up his coat and continued walking. But this was no cold shiver. When a woman was talking with Tintin, Tintin suddenly felt as if his chest was being ravaged by millions of tiny feathers. He had no choice but to burst out laughing and giggling. He even fell to the sidewalk, writhing and hugging his body and behaving as if somebody was attacking him with ticklish fingers.

On the fifth day, Tintin began to experience a feeling he hadn't noticed before. One day, Tintin was writing an article when he had the sudden urge to use the bathroom. Getting up, Tintin began to walk toward the bathroom. Suddenly, he lost his balance and collapsed. "Wha…? I thought there were two doors," he mumbled. But he managed to get up and walk.

All throughout those entire four days, something strange had begun to take control of Tintin's body. And Tintin never knew what it was, or how it happened in the first place.


	3. The Startling News

Chapter three: The Startling News

It had almost been three days ever since Tintin started to notice the strange affliction taking control of his entire body. So far, he has only experienced a painful sore on his tongue, an irritation in the eyes that he could never shake off, an itchiness in the hands that left them ugly, and a ticklishness that he would not ignore. He had asked himself what this feeling was, but he could not put the pieces together as to why this was happening to him.

On the fifth day, Tintin had had enough. "I just don't get it," he said. "A few days ago, I wake up to a sore on my tongue, and the next few days, I've been ravaged with symptoms," he said. "I don't know what's happening to me. But if this is going to be a problem, I'm going to get some help." Grabbing his coat, Tintin whistled for his little dog. "Come Snowy," he said. "We're taking a little field trip to the doctor."

Meanwhile, at the doctor's office, Tintin approached the front desk and met the smiling receptionist who greeted him. "What can I do for you today?" the receptionist asked. "Yes, is Dr. McArthur in today? I need to ask him something," Tintin answered. "Let me have your name, and I'll see if he can take you in today," the receptionist said. As soon as Tintin gave her his name, the receptionist made a quick phone call. "Okay sir," the receptionist told Tintin. "It looks like Dr. McArthur can see you now." "Thank you," Tintin said, then he and Snowy walked straight in.

"Ah Tintin, what a nice surprise," Dr. McArthur said as Tintin entered his office. "Pleasure to be here," Tintin said while sitting in an armchair. "Now," Dr. McArthur said, "what seems to be the trouble?" "Well, it's kind of a long story," Tintin said. "A few days ago, I woke up and found this red sore on my tongue. I went to have it checked, and they said it was a cold sore. And so I thought it was not that big of a deal. However, on the day after that, my eyes started to itch. Then, these lesions appeared in my hands, and my ribs kept tickling me. I have no idea what's happening."

Dr. MacArthur went through his papers, trying to calculate what Tintin had said. "Oh my," he said. "What is it?" Tintin asked. "Well, my boy," the doctor said, "this may come as a shock to you, but…It seems to me that you're suffering from a rare illness known as mephyllanthostritis."

"Mephyll—what?" Tintin asked, confused. "Sometimes, this disease has often been referred to by its appropriate nickname, Norway fever," Dr. MacArthur had said. "So, this means that I'm…sick?" Tintin asked. "That's right," the doctor had said. "And, according to my own documentation, there has never been any recorded history of anyone who had suffered from this illness. Apparently, no one at all. Turns out that you seem to be the only one with this illness."

"Gosh, that's terrible!" Tintin said. "Is there any way you can help me?" "No, I'm afraid that there is no actual cure to this disease," the doctor had told him. "But it's not going to be easy. If doctors could take some sort of plant, like the violet ibis of the ancient legend, they'd be bound to find a cure in no time at all!" A smile lit across Tintin's face.

"You know what?" Tintin said. "You've got a point!" He got up out of his seat. "Thanks for your help!" "Anytime, sir," the doctor had told him.

"So that's it!" Tintin said as he and Snowy walked out of the building. "Maybe the violet ibis will be the answer to my health situation! But if I'm going to find out more about that legendary item, I'll have to find out more information!" The two approached a nearby library. Tintin smiled in anticipation.

After entering the library, Tintin searched the shelves for a few minutes until he found a book on ancient Norse history and mythology. He ran through the pages until he came across an illustrated picture of the ibis. Then, he sat down on a chair and began to read.

" _The violet ibis_ ," the book read, " _was considered by many to be the most precious and valuable treasure, even more revered than the gold of Atlantis. The violet ibis is believed to cure a multitude of diseases and ailments known to man. But the Violet Goddess, the protector of the ibis, would do anything in her power to protect the ibis from falling into the wrong hands. Rumor has it that the daughter of a soldier had vanished when she first discovered the ibis, but has never returned or lived to tell the tale ever since. Ever since then, the goddess herself will let the ibis's power be granted to those who are worthy._ "

"Okay, seems fair enough," Tintin said, closing the book. And it says here that the ibis is located in the Cave of Wonders on an island off the coast of Norway. That shouldn't be too far." He turned to Snowy, with a smile on his face. "Are you ready for a little adventure, Snowy?"


	4. The Storm and Continuous Journey

Chapter 4: The storm and continuous journey

"Snowy, I don't want you complaining so much. I know what I'm doing. And it's for a good cause, okay? So behave yourself."

Tintin knew what he was saying, because earlier that night, he began to pack his bags and everything. He had decided that the best time to leave for Norway was that night tonight. He packed all the essentials he needed, like extra pairs of clothes, socks, shoes, three sweaters, books, pencils, a journal, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pair of workboots. "There," he said. "Now I'm prepared for my journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun," he said.

Dressed in a dark blue turtleneck sweater, Tintin went down to the docks to rent a motorboat that would take him to Norway. He found the perfect boat, which was a baby-blue sailing boat, complete with a good navigation system. "And are you sure you want to take this vessel up to Norway?" the fisherman who sold Tintin the boat asked. "'Cause I heard there's a storm coming in a few minutes, and waves up there get pretty bad in the fjords." "It's only for a good cause," Tintin said, getting on the boat and starting the engine. "Goodbye!" Soon, Tintin was on the vessel, sailing out to sea and journeying to Norway!

A few hours seemed to pass by while Tintin had sailed far from Brussels and was already out into the sea, all alone. But Tintin had high hopes that once he got to Norway, he would eventually prove that the violet ibis really existed. He even hoped that the violet ibis will help him rid himself of the dreaded Norway fever once and for all, and that he would come back home, healthy and happy to be back to normal.

It was already ten o'clock at night. A few hours had passed ever since Tintin left the sea port in Brussels to journey to the fjords of Norway. While he was busy steering the boat toward its rightful path, Tintin took a deep breath. A little while later, Tintin felt a sharp twinge in his stomach. Of course, it wasn't the anxiety that was rushing through to his body already.

"Boy, am I starving," Tintin said. "I must have forgotten to eat dinner before I left my home. I better find something to eat right now." Tintin put the steering wheel on autopilot and began to search the boat for some food. In one of the lower compartments next to where his dog Snowy slept, Tintin found nothing but a torn map, an empty whiskey bottle, a dirty rag, and a dried, rotten apple. "Great," Tintin muttered. "There's nothing here for me to eat. How am I gonna continue this trip if I'm going to have to do it on an empty stomach? Oh well. Until we get to dry land, I'll find some food to nourish me." Giving up his situation, Tintin returned to the steering wheel.

As nightfall descended upon the ocean, a cold breeze began to blow, spraying Tintin's face. It hadn't been a few hours and Tintin was already growing even hungrier by each second. His stomach pinched even more, twisting his guts until they ached. In fact, Tintin was so busy feeling concerned about his continuous hunger pangs that he did not notice the dark storm clouds covering the moon. Tintin felt the calm breeze starting to grow stronger. Little Snowy woke up with a start, then began to run around in a crazed circle, barking. "Gosh, the wind seems to be getting stronger," Tintin said. "I can barely see a thing. But I have a feeling that we might be reaching the fjords in any moment now. I hope that no unexpected force will penetrate the…"

Tintin's words were cut short by the monstrous wave that crashed into the boat, soaking Tintin. The wind had created such violent force that the ocean waves were now becoming stronger. Tintin could practically feel the boat rocking back and forth violently, as if he were inside a baby cradle. He dropped to his knees and grabbed a hold of the steering wheel, for fear that he might become seasick at any point in time. He eventually managed to pick himself up and attempted to steer the boat.

But it was no use to him. The boat careened on all sides of the waves thrashing it back and forth violently. Falling backwards, Tintin grabbed on to Snowy and braced himself. Within minutes, the waves sent the boat crashing onto a narrow inset of land near the shore. The boat itself was smashed into pieces, and its remains bobbed up to the surface. Tintin popped up from the water, gasping for breath and swimming toward the shore. Panting heavily, Tintin began to regain his bearings, and took a moment to look around. His boat was crushed, his clothes were shredded. "Okay, this shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I guess I can just continue the journey on foot." Grabbing a broken pole, Tintin began to continue the rest of his journey farther into the fjords.

Venturing through a dense entanglement of trees, shrubs, and grass, Tintin seemed to lose his focus every time he stopped to catch a breath. Little Snowy was worried about his friend, but Tintin himself was worried too. "Can't…stop…" Tintin huffed. "Have…to…keep…moving…forward." With every new step he took, Tintin began to slowly grow weaker. His stomach hurt so much from lack of food. His body ached, and his legs were being scratched up by unseen twigs and branches. But Tintin decided to move on, without any limitations.

Later on, as he began to saunter in different directions of the path, Tintin stopped short, for he saw something in the distance. "What is that over there?" he muttered as he inched closer to it. It was a large and rather defunct barn, with the paint chipping off from the sides. Tintin and Snowy decided to check out the place. Opening the barn doors, Tintin looked inside. "I have to keep going," Tintin said, feeling weak, "but…it's getting…late." Suddenly, Tintin felt his head whirling and his legs shaking. "Oh no," Tintin said. "I feel…so…so…dizzy. I…I…" And without a warning, Tintin suddenly fell to the floor, weak, hungry, cold, and tired. Snowy howled in agony.

Meanwhile, inside the farmhouse, a sheep farmer named Thomas Syvertsen sipped his tea while his daughter, Lilli, tended to the fire. Thomas and his daughter Lilli had lived in the fjords of Norway for almost sixteen years after his wife died years ago from a miscarriage. "Well Daddy?" Lilli said to her father. "Have you done all of your chores yet?" "I have," Lilli said obediently. "You've cleaned the barn, fed the chickens, tended to the sheep, dusted the furniture, and cooked the supper?" Thomas said. "Yes Daddy," Lilli said teasingly. "I have done all of my chores in the morning and afternoon." "Well, you still have one more thing to do," her father said. "Okay. What is it?" Lilli asked. "Why don't you go down to the barn and restock the firewood supply? Can you do that?" "Yes, I can," Lilli said. Grabbing her coat, Lilli went outside.

Outside near the barn, Lilli was busy chopping the wood from recently cut trees. It was cold in Norway, and she would have to make sure that there was enough firewood to warm the house. While she tied the wood together, she heard a strange barking noise. "Now what could that be?" she wondered as she went with the wood to check.

It had been no sooner than Lilli had found Snowy braking and running around in a crazy manner. "Hello, little fellow!" Lilli said. "Where did you come from?" Snowy barked at her, though Lilli could not understand what he was trying to say. "What do you want to tell me?" Lilli asked. Snowy wagged his tail and ran into the barn, with Lilli following him from behind.

"What is it that you want to show me?" Lilli asked as she followed Snowy inside the barn. She then dropped the wood as soon as she saw a weak and fragile Tintin lying on the scratchy hay. "Daddy! Come quick!" Lilli shouted. "You have to see this!"

Thomas rushed outside to see what his daughter was shouting about. Running into the barn, he stopped short and gasped as he saw Tintin lying face down on the hay. "Who is this man?" he demanded. "I don't know," Lilli said. "This dog told me to come inside and I found this guy just like that." Thomas grabbed Tintin and felt his skin. "He's cold as ice," Thomas said. "He was probably out on the fjords at this time of day." "And he probably didn't have a bite to eat while he was there," Lilli said, placing her hand on Tintin's empty stomach. "What do we do with him?" "Help me carry him inside," Thomas said. Lilli nodded her head and the two worked together.

Carrying him upstairs, Thomas had Lilli undress Tintin until he only had on his white undershirt. Then, Thomas placed Tintin on a plain cot and covered him with warm blankets, Thomas turned to Lilli. "Tomorrow I'm going to Oslo for a farmer's meeting," he said. "When the boy wakes up, I want you to feed him breakfast, give him a bath, and take him to a doctor. Plus, you'll have to buy costumes and supplies for the Falling Stars Festival tomorrow night." Then, he slowly walked out of the room.


	5. The Awakening

Chapter 5: The awakening

On the next morning, the storm had calmed down, and the sun finally appeared for the first time in many days. The bright rays of the sunlight were slowly cascading over the woods and onto the farmhouse. Although it was warm and clear outside, a lightly thick fog covered most of the sky and trees surrounding the barn. The faint, shrill squeaks of birds could be heard outside as morning gave way.

Inside the bedroom, Tintin's eyes fluttered open. Tintin could not remember much about the storm last night. He couldn't even remember the itchy hay, the sound of footsteps running into the barn, or the gentle hands that carried him into the house. Rubbing his head, Tintin felt a little strange, like he had been sleeping too long. Opening his eyes a little, Tintin began to survey his surroundings. He realized that he was in some kind of bedroom. He was lying on a plain cot with a wool blanket covering his numb, frostbitten legs. A fireplace was located at the edge of the bed, maybe to keep him warm.

"Ugh, what a strange dream," Tintin muttered, rubbing his eyes. "I dreamt that I was in a barn, and I heard people's voices talking about the…" He took a moment to realize that he was in a different place. "I must be in a house," Tintin said. "But who would take me inside their house? I can't remember what happened last night, or where I was."

Soon, the door pushed open. Tintin covered himself, thinking it was an intruder. But, it was only Snowy. After getting an eyeful of Tintin, Snowy eagerly ran up to Tintin and licked his hand. "Good to see you too, old boy," Tintin said, petting Snowy's head and getting out of bed. "I don't really have a clue as to where I am or who would've have let me inside this house. Come on, Snowy. Let's get up. I have to know who the person is that took me inside." "Tintin's stomach grumbled slightly. Tintin realized he was hungry. "And I hope that whoever decided to take me into this house has food," he said," 'cause I haven't had anything to eat in days, and I'm already starving to death."

Walking out of the bedroom, covered with a thin blanket, Tintin walked downstairs into the living room. It seemed well-furnished with many antiquities, and to the side of a drawer was a pitchfork for gathering hay. Tintin stared in awe at the furnishings and open space; for someone who decided to take him, they were well organized.

Tintin wandered into the kitchen and found a girl at the stove. She seemed to be cooking something in a pot that was sitting over a wood-burning stove. Edging closer, Tintin was afraid to speak to her, but he said, "Hello?" The girl turned around. She was a rather pretty girl, with short brown hair, and wore a green shirt, black pants, and brown Norse-style boots. "Ah, you've woken up at last," The girl said. "You picked the wrong place to sleep in last night, especially since my daddy and I found you sleepin' in the barn last night. But you're safe and warm now, in here." She laughed a short laugh.

Tintin sat at the table as the girl placed a bowl in front of him. Staring down at it, Tintin found that the bowl had some sort of brown, mushy stuff in it. And it was a fairly small amount of meal, too. Tintin wanted to explain to the girl that he couldn't eat this meager amount, but the smell kept intoxicating him. He was so hungry. Grabbing a spoon, Tintin began to eat the meal left for him. He then realized he was ravenous and began devouring the food in a flash. "Sorry I haven't introduced myself," the girl said to Tintin as he ate. "Name's Lilli Syvertsen. What's yours?" Swallowing the spoonful of mush, Tintin replied, "My name's Tintin. Nice to meet you, Lilli." "Anyway," Lilli said, "what were you doing out there, freezing to death in the fjords?"

"Well." Tintin said, his mouth full of food, "I had to come here in the first place because I wanted to learn more about the violet ibis." "You wanted to learn more about the Star of the Northern Lights?" Lilli asked in amazement. "I'm impressed!" "Oh, so you've heard of the ibis before?" Tintin asked. "Yes," Lilli replied. "Almost everyone here in Norway's Hardanger county has known about it." Lilli looked at the clock and smiled. "Okay, Mr. Tintin," she said. "Now hurry and finish your breakfast, and come to the barn with me. We have a lot to do today." "Okay," Tintin said, coughing hoarsely. "But…do you have any juice?" "Sure," Lilli said, giving him a glass of orange juice. Tintin then finished eating and he followed Lilli as soon as she walked out of the door.

Outside, the morning sun was shining down on the beautiful yet desolate forest countryside, making the leaves on the trees shine like glowing emeralds. There were chickens pecking carelessly at the ground in search of any grains. The chickens then scrambled in a panicked run as soon as Tintin tramped the barren lands into the barn.

"Lilli?" he called out as he opened the tall doors. Inside the barn were stalls with horses, pigs, sheep, and cows eating their breakfast. Soon, Tintin found Lilli standing near a large basin and filling it with water. "What's that for?" Tintin asked. "Oh yes, of course. I need to give you a bath," Lilli said. "A bath?" Tintin asked in confusion. "What for? Is the bathroom in your house not working right?" "Didn't I tell you?" Lilli said. "My dad told me that we're going to the village district in a few minutes. He's away at a farmer's conference. Besides, you want to get cleaned up, don't you? You've been covered in enough filth for today." "I guess," Tintin said shyly. "Good," Lilli said. "Now, do me a favor and go over to that empty stall and take off your clothes, okay?"

Tintin silently nodded his head and went to undress in the empty stall in the corner from where Lilli stood. Tintin felt rather awkward about having to take off his clothes in front of the other animals. As Tintin slowly began removing his shirt, the sheep and pigs were already beginning to stare at him. By the time he was about to take off his pants, one of the horses cocked his head toward Tintin's direction. "Hey! A little privacy, please?" Tintin shouted at the horse. The horse simply snorted and turned away.

After he stripped himself completely of his garments, Tintin finally stepped into the water basin. He even jumped a little, for the water was indeed warm. As soon as that was done, Lilli began to wash him. After all, it was necessary for Tintin to bathe, since he had to get rid of the smell of algae. But, to Tintin, all of this was new to him. He felt rather embarrassed by the fact that he was being washed by a girl, inside a barn, with about a dozen other animals watching. Wetting his hair down with water, Lilli happened to ask Tintin, "So, what do you do for a living?"

"Ah, I was hoping you'd say that," Tintin said. "You see, I may look just like any other ordinary person on the inside. But on the outside, I'm a world-famous globetrotting reporter." "Amazing," Lilli said while washing behind Tintin's ear. "My dad and I are sheep farmers. Do you go to almost every country in the world?" "I have," Tintin replied back. "Unbelievable," Lilli said. "I wish I could travel the world too." As Lilli ran the washcloth down Tintin's back, Tintin let out a loud moan. "What's wrong?" Lilli asked him. "Nothing. I'm fine," Tintin said. "I'm just embarrassed, that's all."

When Lilli got to washing Tintin's arm, she caught sight of the red blemishes on his hand. "Tintin? What is this?" she said, showing Tintin his hand covered in red blemishes. "Aah!" Tintin screamed, pulling his hand away in fear. "That was…it's not really…Okay I'll tell you. The truth is, I have some kind of rare condition called mephyllanthrostritis." "You have the Norway fever?!" Lilli exclaimed, retreating from Tintin, for fear that she might catch the illness. "No no no, it's okay," Tintin said. "I'm fine." "But how did you catch that illness?" Lilli asked. "That's the problem. I don't know how I got it," Tintin said. "Well, we ought to take you to the doctor for a checkup," Lilli said. "Speaking of which, I think it's time for you to get out and dry yourself. Once you're in your towel, come into the house." "Okay," Tintin said.

A few moments later, after getting out of the water basin and wrapping himself with a cloth towel, Tintin made his way to the house. Although he still felt like he was naked, Tintin felt relieved to be covered by the towel. Reclining on a chair while holding the towel and still covering himself, Tintin put his bare feet up and warmed them by the fireplace. Soon, Lilli came into the room with a handful of clothing. "There you are," she said. "It's not much, but I think it will help." Tintin got up and dressed himself in the clothes. It turned out that he was wearing a large and baggy shirt, with sagging trousers that soon dropped to his ankles. "Oh my goodness!" Lilli said, laughing. "Looks as if the pants are a little too baggy. Hold on, I'll get you a belt." Tintin now realized that his bare legs were exposed, and he awkwardly tried to pick up the trousers to cover them. While he was doing that, Lilli then came back with a leather belt. "Hold still," she said while adjusting the belt around Tintin's waist, then pulled on it hard.

"Hey, are you trying to burst my wind bag here?" Tintin asked. "Sorry," Lilli said jokingly. Tintin found a pair of old fur-lined boots and put them on. "So where are we going?" he asked. "We have to go get some things for tonight," Lilli said, grabbing her coat. "We need some bread, medicine for you, fruits, grain, and farming supplies. Plus, you'll need some new clothes, or else you end up naked." "Right. Point taken," Tintin said, carrying Snowy in his arms. So, he and Lilli walked out the door to make the best of their day.


	6. The Ibis's True Nature

Chapter 6: The ibis's true nature

Meanwhile, in the bustling seaside market in Oslo, the sound of fishermen yelling out commands echoed across the air. Fruit vendors proudly displayed their merchandise while open crates of fruit were set out. The butchers, with their bloodstained aprons, diligently cut large pieces of meat with great swiftness. Weavers would display their lovely tapestries while they worked the loom.

During that time, Lilli was busy helping Tintin find some brand new clothes to wear. They were at the Oaken and Sven Trading Outpost, and the smiling woman at the register was able to help them out. "Now," Tintin told the woman, "you have any farming boots or something?" "Want to stay warm out in this howling weather, _ja_?" the woman asked. Tintin eventually managed to find a pair of sturdy boots and handed them to the woman. Lilli approached with a handful of clothes and asked, "Are you all set?" Tintin nodded and said, "I sure am." Tintin replied. Lilli paid for the rest of the clothing, and the two headed out. "You have a good rest of the afternoon, _ja_?" the woman called out to them.

Outside, Tintin and Lilli had to maneuver through nearly every crack and bend in the streets full of people. It was indeed a very busy day on the streets of Norway. Now Tintin understood how it felt to be trapped in a full street on a Saturday. He had never seen Norway in a better view than ever. He was even astounded by the many booths that sold clothes, artifacts, even fruit. Tintin did not even know this, nor could he ignore the tempting aroma coming from nearby food stands. Tintin knew that he already ate the breakfast Lilli fed him, but that seemed hours ago. He was very hungry, and the smell of freshly cooked meat pies and baked pastries made his stomach rumble loudly a second time. Wandering off a few feet, he spotted a booth that sold little cream cakes, cookies, and chocolate brownies. "Gosh, doesn't that look good?" Tintin asked his dog Snowy, who barked in reply. Before the nice smiling lady offered him a sample, Tintin heard Lilli calling out, "C'mon Tintin, let's go before you get lost in this sea of faces!" "Coming!" Tintin called back, and ran to Lilli.

"Wow, the streets sure seem busy today," Tintin told Lilli as they stopped at a booth selling bread. "Yep, during festive times of the year, the streets are crowded like the Great Hall of Valhalla," Lilli said while paying the vendor. Then, Tintin happened to notice a group of people standing by the newspaper kiosk. They seemed to be talking to each other. As Tintin got to get a closer look, he noticed that those people wore extremely colorful clothing. "Lilli," he asked, "who are those people over there?" "Them?" Lilli asked. "Oh, they're just the performers for tonight's Falling Stars Festival." "The Falling Stars Festival?" Tintin repeated. "I've never heard of it before. What is it like?" "Ah, now you want to learn about it, eh?" Lilli said. "Well, I'll tell you now." Soon, Lilli began to tell Tintin a spinning yarn of intrigue and delight.

"Many years ago," Lilli began, "when we first became an industrialized nation, we have been fascinated by stories of the violet ibis. For years, we have believed in the ibis, and even painted pictures of it in its honor. But one day, the mayor of Oslo decided that there should be a special way to honor the violet ibis and all of its glory. He decided that we should hold a commemorative festival as a method of preserving the memory of the violet ibis. So he did just that by creating a festival in its honor. The people of Oslo were happy with the thought. All the festival needed now was a special name. During that night, one woman saw shooting stars fall from the sky. In myths, the stars meant that the violet ibis was still active. So, that was the name they gave the event. Thus, the Falling Stars Festival was born. Because it is one magical night."

"Wow," Tintin said with a mystified look in his eyes. "Unbelievable. And I never knew about it." "By the way," Lilli said, holding up a purple and gold costume, "do you like this color?" "Yea. Why?" Tintin asked. "Because you'll be wearing this for the festival; it's tonight," Lilli said, paying the vendor. "This could be your chance to experience the festival for yourself." "My gosh, it's tonight?" Tintin said, his entire body shaking. "My, I feel so dizzy." He did not know if it was because his stomach was empty, or if it was the cold air that made him feel jittery. "My goodness," Tintin said out loud. "The thought of the festival…my heart's pounding, my head's spinning, and I'm...ah…I'm…ah…"

And just like that, Tintin felt a puff of smoke hit his face and let out a forceful sneeze. "Aw," Lilli said. "You have a keen yet sensitive nose." "I guess I do," Tintin said, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Lilli exclaimed. "Forgot what?" Tintin asked. "I still have to take you to our regular doctor, Evan Sveidhargen," Lilli said. "But I feel fine," Tintin remarked. "I just sneezed; there's nothing really serious about that." "Yes, but we still need to check your current health as of now," Lilli said. Grabbing Tintin by his shirt sleeve, Lilli said, "Come now. You were due for a minor checkup anyway." "Hmm, now I can never comprehend how Norwegians these days get stuff done in such a hurry," Tintin said as he and Lilli rushed through the busy streets of Oslo while the market was still in full swing.

Not too far from the street where Lilli and Tintin walked, a man peered from the side of a desolate alley. He watched as Lilli began to talk more and more about the ibis itself. This began to interest the man even more. He turned to his partner, who was a grisly black-haired man with dark eyes. "Well," the man said, "have you found anything yet, Hans?" "I have, Ivan," the man, who was obviously Hans, said.

"Well don't just stand there like a worthless buffoon!" Ivan exclaimed. "Tell me!" "You know we're looking to steal the violet ibis from the island, right?" Hans said. "Yes!" Ivan exclaimed impatiently. "Well, I'll let you in on a little secret," Hans said. "Turns out there's a boy involved in this search too. Says he's been afflicted with the dreaded Norway fever." "Ye don't mean to say!" Ivan said. "Wait, there's more," Hans said. "He's been stayin' with this lady for about a day now, and she's been leaking information about the ibis." "So, the girl's been spreading the word about the ibis, eh?" Ivan remarked. "Interesting. If that boy knows more about the ibis's true nature, I bet you that we can get him to lead us to the ibis himself!" "But how are we gonna do that?" Hans asked. "It's easy," Ian said. "We got to make sure that the boy is in plain sight. Once he comes to us and leaks the information. we're bound to unlock the ibis's secrets and exploit its riches!"

A few hours later, Lilli and Tintin both arrived at a building where a sign read "Evan Sveidhargen, Ph.D." "Let's get inside," Lilli said. But Tintin was still nervous about going inside, probably because he was still hungry. "I don't know, Lilli," Tintin said. "I'm still really hungry and I…" "Nonsense! Come, we'll go in together," Lilli said, seizing Tintin's hand and dragging him inside.


	7. The Checkup and Festival

Chapter seven: The checkup and festival

After filing for a checkup with the nice, smiling receptionist at the front desk, Lilli and Tintin sat in the quiet waiting room. Though he wanted to deny it, Tintin still was very hungry. _It's okay, it's okay_ ," Tintin thought to himself. _After the checkup, I'll ask Lilli if she could take me to eat thereafter. It won't be long; it's just one little checkup. No problem there._ Tintin gently put his hand on his stomach, which felt even more hollow than an empty cabin. _Well, it won't be a problem unless noise starts escaping out of my stomach. Then that's a problem._

Tintin noticed a man sitting with his little daughter, who was kicking the seats. "You're waiting for a doctor, too?" the man asked. "I am," Tintin said. "Neat coincidence, isn't it?" the man replied. "What's your name, son?" "Tintin's my name, actually," Tintin told the man. "Edmund Horvath," the man told Tintin. "And that's my little girl, Kira." The little girl smiled at Tintin.

"What're you here for?" Tintin asked. "Daddy says I'm getting my measles shot today," little Kira told Tintin. "Then' he's gonna take me for ice cream!" "That must be nice," Tintin said. "Ice cream must sound pretty sweet. And delicious, at the same time." At that moment, Tintin's stomach rumbled at the mention of ice cream. Turning red with embarrassment, Tintin awkwardly crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm guessin' your belly is empty, eh?" Edmund chuckled. "Mehh," Tintin said. "I only ate just a little bit of my breakfast this morning. I haven't had anything to eat since then." "Eh, don't you worry," Edmund said. "You can't even eat before going to a doctor for a checkup; that's public law. But I bet you the girl next to you will take you to eat when you're done here." "Thank you," Tintin told him. "Your tummy sounds funny," Kira told Tintin, giggling.

Before Tintin could make a comeback, a nurse came out, calling, "Syvertsen?" "Looks like that's for you," the man told Tintin. "Good luck." "I will," Tintin said, getting up and walking with Lilli to the examination room.

"Lilli!" Evan greeted Lilli as she walked in. "What a nice surprise to see you again! How are you today? How's your father?" "I'm fine. It's so good to see you again," Lilli said. "My father's away at a farmers' convent in Bergen, but he'll be back in time for the festival tonight." "That's good. I'm glad to hear that," Evan replied.

A woman wearing a white lab coat and a nametag reading "Rosalyn Heiddegar", asked, "Lilli? Who's your little friend there?" "This is Tintin, my new friend," Lilli said. "Hello," Tintin said. "Why do you need a checkup?" a man with a white coat and nametag reading "John Heiddegar", asked. "He just needs a checkup. Just for today," Lilli answered.

After removing his shirt, pants, and boots, Tintin sat on the cot. "Okay now," Evan said, holding a stick. "Open your mouth, and say "aaaah". "Aaaaaah," Tintin opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "Hmmm," Evan muttered as he examined Tintin's tongue. "Minimal white coating. Seems mild." After that, he checked Tintin's ears, which turned out healthy. "Now, let's start with your blood pressure," Rosalyn said, securing Tintin's arm with the pump. "You'll be done before you know it." She pumped several times and felt for Tintin's pulse. "A sixty-five," Rosalyn said. "It's the perfect score."

John, meanwhile, brought out a stethoscope and proceeded to hear Tintin's heart rate. "Breathe deeply," he said. Tintin breathed as slowly as he could. As he began to hear heartbeats, John was startled to hear that Tintin's heart beat a little more slowly and monotonously. He even checked Tintin's kick reflex.

After that, Evan brought out a new syringe. "You're giving me a shot?" Tintin asked. "It's essential you get one," Evan said while pinching a bit of Tintin's skin tightly on his arm. "Now hold your breath." Tintin held his breath and winced as he felt the needle enter his skin. "You're done," Evan said. "You have been a good boy." Reaching into his coat pocket, he brought out a red sucker and handed it to Tintin. "Care for a lollipop?" Tintin seemed hesitant; he still considered himself a bit too mature to be eating any kind of sweets. Still, he took the red sucker, unwrapped it, and began sucking on it.

After going over the papers, Evan was talking with Lilli, while Tintin was off to the other side, playing around with the lollipop wrapper. "Now tell me, Lilli," Evan said. "Has your friend here ever had a history of any rare or unnamed illness of any sort?" "Not much, really," Lilli had told him. "Though this morning, he did tell me he had this disease, called mephyllanthostritis, I think?" "The Norway fever?" Evan asked in amazement. "Yes," Lilli replied.

"Extraordinary!" Evan said to Tintin. "In all my years of medical business, I've never seen you with this illness before! Have you experienced any coughing, sneezing, dizziness, nausea, shivering, headaches, sore throat, twitching, vomiting, seizures, or rash?" "No, I feel fine," Tintin said. "Okay, but I'll tell you right now. I will have to make frequent home visits, okay? Just to update your current condition," Evan said, checking his papers. "Now, I'm guessing you want to go eat right now." "Why?" Tintin asked. "Because I can tell that your nutritional nourishment level is extremely low. To paraphrase, you seem hungry," Evan said with a chuckle. Tintin paused for a moment, not even comprehending what Evan had just said. At that moment, Tintin's stomach growled loudly. Tintin, turning even more red in the face, awkwardly covered himself while Lilli and Evan started to laugh.

After walking out of the doctor's office, Lilli turned to Tintin and said, "Let's go and get you some food to fill up your empty belly, okay? How come you never told me you were hungry?" "Because I didn't want to interrupt your errands," Tintin said. "Oh, you should've told me earlier that you wanted some food," Lilli said. "That explained why I heard your wee tummy rumbling when we were in the waiting room." "You heard?" Tintin asked, rubbing his stomach. "I did," Lilli said. "Come, let's go eat."

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Soon, the two friends had arrived at what appeared to be a nice place to eat. It was a public house, called Sveidheld's Pub, which had a restaurant combined with a tavern. Normally, it would have been considered inappropriate for a girl Lilli's age to enter an adults-only pub. But, the owners of the pub actually knew her father, so they allowed her to go inside.

Inside the pub, Tintin was amazed to find groups of burly men playing darts, eating sandwiches, or sitting at the bar tables and drinking beer. The smell of food hit Tintin in the face, which made him feel somewhat dizzy. His empty stomach wrenched and twisted with hunger as Tintin slowly took in the delicious smells. Tintin then heard his stomach rumble again and groaned. "I know, you want to eat now," Tintin said to himself. "Just hold on for one minute, please."

"Afternoon, Lilli!" one man said. "How's that dear father of yours?" "Fine, thank you," Lilli said. "Gonna be a bright one in the festival tonight, eh?" another man said. "Sure!" Lilli said. "Lilli!" a voice said. "Lilli! Over here, sweetie!" Lilli was thrilled to finally find her father at last. Even the toughest men melted into a heartfelt reverence as they saw the two embrace each other. "Ah, Tintin! My boy!" Thomas said. "You're up and about, I see!" "And a wee bit famished, too," Tintin said, blushing red.

At last, they were finally able to eat. Tintin bit into a sandwich that was immediately delicious. "So, did you buy the supplies I asked you to get?" Thomas asked. "Of course," Lilli said. "I finally got everything, plus the costumes! You know how hard it was to find them? I had to look at every stall!" They paused for a second, as they saw the men chuckling at Tintin as he ate an entire sandwich in one bite. "Mmm, so good," Tintin said, swallowing his food. "Finally, I can have a decent meal." He then drank from a glass of sweet, dark-brown liquid to wash it down. "Hic!" Tintin then started hiccupping. "Hic! Hic!" Lilli and Thomas started to laugh, for the drink gave Tintin the hiccups. Tintin felt good to spend time with a family that decided to welcome him into their life.

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Later that night, back at the farmhouse, Lilli was busy helping Tintin with his costume. By then, it seemed that Tintin's hiccups had died down. "Are you nervous?" she asked. "A little bit," Tintin said. "I really haven't worn anything this colorful before." "But once you've seen the festival unfold, you'll be okay," Lilli said, fastening the bow on the back of Tintin's purple and gold shirt.

Giving a little twirl, Tintin asked, "How do I look?" "Great!" Lilli said as she came out, wearing her green and blue flowered dress. Snowy barked in reply as he pranced around, jangling his bell-adorned collar. She was fastening a gold headpiece on her head when her father came in. "You two are ready, I hope?" Thomas asked. "We are," Tintin said. "Come now. There's lots to do," Thomas said. The three then came out and locked the house up for the night. Then, they all climbed into an old pick-up truck and drove all the way to Oslo.

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The Falling Stars festival was packed with stalls and costumed folk from all across Norway. The pavilions were filled with people as they all went about their business and everything. Everywhere, there were jugglers, acrobats, tumblers, magicians, and singers. Stalls were filled with silk robes, honey, crafts, and jewelry.

"All right, then," Thomas said, turning to face the two. "I'll be going to meet with my mates up at the bonfire circle to prepare the ceremonial fire. You two are free to roam everywhere. Just don't get lost." "We will," Lilli said. As soon as Thomas left, Lilli turned to Tintin. "Now let's go have fun!" she said.

Lilli and Tintin both went to go see a fire dancer performing. Tintin almost cringed when he saw the performer blow the flames from his torch. But he enjoyed it. The two friends even went to see a seductive gypsy dancer twirling her chiffon scarf around. Lilli laughed when Tintin stood, frozen in place, as the dancer wiggled the scarf around his nose. After that, they even got to play carnival games. Tintin was a natural at hopscotch, archery, cricket, and potato sack racing. But he failed miserably at kickball; he even felt like getting sick after someone accidentally kicked the ball in his stomach.

Hours later, after they got their faces painted, Lilli went to a nearby stall and bought two colored crystal necklaces. She went over to Tintin, who was busy eating potatoes and chicken on a skewer. "Here you are," Lilli said, handing Tintin a blue crystal necklace. "Your first souvenir from the festival." From afar, a Norse bugle horn wailed loudly. "It's time for the ceremonial bonfire!" Lilli said.

The two then went towards the center pavilion. From nearby, a nice lady offered Tintin a pastry. Tintin tried it, and soon found out that it was a grape jam-filled pastry, which he loved immensely. Then, he passed by a stall that sold tapestries. He stopped to gaze upon a beautifully colored tapestry adorned with the violet ibis at the center. The artist even promised Tintin that he could draw him with the Violet Goddess as well. Soon, Tintin's focus went back to the fire, where all the patrons had gathered.

Everyone was handed a bunch of reeds to throw in the fire and burn. Soon, the crowd oohed and aahed as shooting stars began to fall from the sky. Then, everyone lined up for the offerings. Tintin was behind a woman, with Lilli in front of her. The line seemed to go on for hours as each person threw the reeds into the fire.

Lilli approached the fire and whispered, "To the Violet Goddess," and threw her reeds into the fire. The woman behind her approached the fire and also said, "To the Violet Goddess." As Tintin approached the fire, he shut his eyes tight. "I don't know you very well, but I know I must do this," he whispered to himself. "To the Violet Goddess." Then he threw his reeds into the fire.

After everyone had made their offerings to the fire, fireworks then began to burst into the air. Music filled the sky as everyone broke out into dance. It was a night to remember.


	8. The Poisoning

Chapter 8: The poisoning

The sun shone brightly as dawn gave way to the morning after the liveliness of the Falling Stars Festival the other night. Sleeping in his bed, Tintin felt exhausted after that wild dancing and singing the other night. In fact, he was so tuckered out that Thomas ended up carrying him to his room when they returned home that night, after the festival. He felt like he could sleep on and on forever.

At the break of dawn, Tintin suddenly heard the loud, far-off crowing of a rooster as it caught its first glimpse of the sun. Groaning, Tintin rolled over in his bed and put his pillow on his head to muffle the rooster's annoying "cock a doodle doo". But the rooster kept shrieking out its morning call. "Ugh, would you cut that out already?!" Tintin muttered angrily. "I'm trying to sleep!" He then burrowed his head deeper into the pillow.

"Knock knock," Lilli said, opening the door. "What is it?" Tintin said, his head groggy from recently waking up. "It's barely five in the morning." "I know," Lilli said. "Now hurry and get changed. You're gonna experience your firsthand experience at real farm work." "Okay," Tintin said, tumbling off of his bed and changing into his new clothes and shoes.

Soon, Tintin and Lilli were outside by the farmhouse while Thomas came out. "All right kids, here's the chores for today," he said. "I'm having a private farmers' gathering here tonight, so I want this place cleaned up. Lilli, you will do the dishes and stock each fireplace with wood. Tintin, I'll go easy on you. You can feed the pigs in the pen, rake some hay for the cows and horses, lock up the sheep in their pens, and chop the firewood." "Sounds like a plan," Tintin said.

But the real work became somewhat of an exhilarating experience for Tintin. He was actually able to rake the hay and chop the wood. But most of it did not go as planned. While Lilli washed the dishes, she heard Tintin scream. She ran out the back door and found Tintin racing out of the pig pen, his eyes wild. "What happened?" Lilli asked, laughing. "Lilli!" Tintin said, his face red. "Those pigs are vicious! I always thought of it cruel to kick a pig, but not anymore!" "Here, go make yourself useful and chop the wood," Lilli laughed, handing Tintin an axe. "Tintin got kicked by pigs?" Thomas asked Lilli. "How did you know?" Lilli asked. "Oh, I heard the pigs squealing and Tintin dropping a bucket," Thomas said with a chuckle.

Tintin just shrugged and sauntered over to the pile of wood next to the well. He picked up a small log of wood and set it on the stone. Raising the axe, Tintin prepared to swing it, but inadvertently stopped after feeling a slight creak on his back. "Ow! My back!" Tintin cried out, rubbing his back in pain. "I'm getting a little too old for this." Tintin then picked up the axe and continued to chop the wood.

As Tintin kept chopping the wood, Thomas happened to swing by to check on his progress. "I say, Tintin, you're pretty good at this!" Thomas said. "I thought Lilli just made me do this just to make me look good for your own desire," Tintin replied. "'Ey, you're starting to sound a lot like my wife," Thomas said. "She used to tease me a lot about me making her do chores for Lilli's own good."

Later that afternoon, after the chores were done for the day, Tintin flopped down on his bed, exhausted. "Can I get you anything, Mr. Lazybones?" Lilli asked teasingly. "Sure. I'd like a nice ham sandwich, if you don't mind," Tintin said. "Wait…you mean it?" Lilli said. "Yea, I mean it. I was hungry," Tintin said, still lying in bed with one hand scratching his stomach. "Okay, I'll get it," Lilli said, walking downstairs. "Don't hurry up," Tintin said, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Suddenly, Tintin was awakened by a hand shaking him. "Huh…what?" Tintin muttered. "Good afternoon Tintin," Evan said in a pleased tone. "Dr. Evan?" Tintin asked, "what are you doing here?" "Oh, Lilli's father let me in," Evan said. "You remember I told you I was going to do a checkup on you?" "No," Tintin said. "Well, now you know," Evan said. "Now let's get started, shall we?"

Meanwhile, Thomas waiting outside the bedroom door, his arms crossed. Lilli came upstairs, with a sandwich in her hand. "Dad, what's going on?" she asked. "Did Tintin lock himself in again?" "No," Thomas said. "This is something else."

During that time, Evan then began to proceed to hear Tintin's heartbeats. "You already know to breathe deeply, right?" he asked. Tintin nodded and breathed slowly. As he gently put the stethoscope on Tintin's chest, Evan started to hear slowing, monotonous beats every minute. After that, he gave a quick check of Tintin's ears, eyes, and mouth, which eventually showed a little bit of white coating. After all that, he was finally done.

"Well," Thomas said as Evan exited the room, "what is it?" "The illness seems to be taking little effect on his body," Evan reported. "Is that bad?" Lilli asked. "I think he'll be fine," Evan said, "for now. His condition is slowly growing weaker; I don't know if there is much I can do to help him." Taking something out of his pocket, Evan handed Lilli a pill. "Before you give Tintin that sandwich," he instructed, "tell him to swallow this pill first. Maybe that will help." "Okay," Lilli said.

"Tintin?" Lilli entered the room, where she found Tintin on the floor, barefoot and playing with Snowy. "Is that my sandwich?" Tintin asked. "Give it here; I'm starving." "Not so fast," Lilli said. "First, your pill. Then, your sandwich." "I have to take a pill?" Tintin asked, grabbing it. "Sure. What else?" Lilli said. "Okay," Tintin said. Then, he held the pill up to his mouth, and he took the pill.

But the pill was too big for him to swallow, and he almost choked on it. "Here, have a cup of water," Lilli said, handing him a glass of water. After a short a draft of water, Tintin was finally able to swallow the pill in one gulp. "Now you can have your sandwich," Lilli said, giving Tintin his sandwich and watching him devour it. "You're full of surprises, you know that?" "Of course I am," Tintin said. "How long will it be till I can finally see the ibis?" "So many questions," Lilli said. "Maybe one day, you'll finally get to revel at the ibis's glory sometime."

Later on, at dinner, Thomas had been preparing the meals while Lilli and Tintin both set the table. After the meals were served, the three sat down to eat, with Snowy lying down at the foot of the table. Thomas noticed that Tintin's plate had a small amount of meat and potatoes, so he spooned Tintin some more. "Um, Mr. Syvertsen," Tintin asked, "I think you've given me more than enough." "You need to build up your strength as long as we find a potential cure for your illness," Thomas said. "Remember yesterday? You didn't eat enough food to fill your stomach." "Oh, right. Thanks for the tip," Tintin said as he sat down to eat.

Throughout the day, Lilli had been talking to Tintin about the ibis that she did not seem to notice Hans eavesdropping on them. Just hearing them talk of the violet ibis was too easy for him! He then turned back and went toward a small hut far away from the farmhouse. "What have you got?" Ivan asked. "This is just too easy," Hans said. "Turns out the boy is really wanting to see the ibis in an effort to cure himself of his Norway fever!" "That is too good to be true!" Ivan exclaimed. "Getting the ibis will be too easy! Now we can finally claim it for ourselves!"

Suddenly, Ivan heard a bell ring. "Oh, cake's done!" Hans exclaimed happily. "Cake?" Ivan asked. Hans went over to the hearth located by the well and pulled out a small, ring-like cake. "There ya are, you little sweet you," Hans muttered, reveling at his latest creation. Meanwhile, Ivan was still seated by the window, still thinking. "I won't have my plans be delayed by some ailing pipsqueak boy who is going to use the ibis on himself," Ivan murmured angrily. "If he can't have the ibis, then no one else can." "Oy Ivan," Hans asked. "And what do you suggest we do with this here cake? Eat it?"

"Hans! I'm busy right at this…" Ivan slowly stared at the cake Hans held in his hands. "Wait a second! Hans, give that cake here! I have an idea!" Taking the cake to a nearby table, he took out a pouch of powdered cocaine and spread it all over the cake. "What is your plan, exactly?" Hans asked. "Your cake just might be the ticket to our prize!" Ivan said. "You give this cake to that boy. Once he eats a slice of this cake, this cocaine will ravage his body like mold on bread. He'll get so sick that he'll have to tell you the location of the ibis. That'll lead us to our prized glory herself!"

Shoving Hans out of the doorway, Ivan yelled, "Go now! Take the tainted cake to the boy!" Hans was so busy running to the farmhouse that he did not see where he went. From a distance, Lilli was exiting the front door. "I'll be back in a few seconds," she said, then walked down the porch. That was when she bumped headlong into Hans! "Gosh, I'm so sorry, sir!" Lilli said, brushing dirt off of her shirt. "Eh, it's all right," Hans said, rubbing his head. "No harm done." Lilli eyed the cake in his hand and asked, "And what is that you've got there?" "Oh, this?" Hans asked. "Why, this cake is just a little gift, for your friend, you know." "You mean Tintin?" Lilli asked. "Yes, that fellow!" Hans said, handing her the cake. "As a matter of fact, go give it to him now."

"Odd," Lilli said, taking the cake inside and setting it on the kitchen table. Meanwhile, Tintin was coming downstairs. "Lilli," Tintin said, "what just happened? I heard some kind of commotion outside. I thought you'd be hurt or something, and is that a cake?" "Uh, yes it is," Lilli said. "Some guy gave it to me, and he said it was for you." "Aw, how thoughtful," Tintin said. "Maybe I should taste it first, to see if it's okay." "Yea, you should," Lilli said, handing him a spoon. "Go for it."

Then, Tintin finally tasted the cake. "Mmm, it is okay," Tintin said. That was when the bad taste kicked in. "Ugh, and a hint of bad flavor, if I do say so myself." "Well, how is it?" Lilli asked. "Umm," Tintin said, still savoring the cake after swallowing a little piece of it, "it is pungent in…in taste, and that flavoring, isn't –mmf!- Isn't that powdered sugar?" "It could be," Lilli said, then watched Tintin gargle water in his throat to get rid of the disgusting after taste.

Tintin immediately headed towards the stairs, then suddenly he fell forward, grasping the railing. "Tintin!" Lilli said, rushing to him. "Are you okay?" "Oh gosh," Tintin said, with one hand on his forehead. "My head…it's spinning like a top. I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy. And…my stomach, it hurts so much." As soon as he said this, strange gurgling noises were coming out of Tintin's stomach. "My gosh, Lilli. I suddenly don't feel so good," Tintin said. "And I feel like I'm gonna…I'm gonna…" Lilli knew what was going to happen, so she took Tintin's arm and led him out the front door.

As soon as they were out, Hans rushed up to the two, yelling, "Wait, don't go! I must ask something of you!" "It's that guy again," Lilli muttered. "What do you want?" Tintin asked, holding his stomach. "I must ask," Hans said, "do you, by any chance, know of a possible way to get to the violet ibis, perchance?" "I'm sorry, sir," Tintin said, "I am…out of sorts, you see. And if…think I'm gonna tell you…where the ibis is, then…good luck finding…that…answer." Tintin felt the nausea rushing through his body and, as if by accident, he let out a nasty burp. "Come Lilli," Tintin said dizzily. "Let us go." Lilli and Tintin both left, with Hans staring in confusion and disgust.

"Well, did he tell you?" Ivan demanded as soon as Hans went back to the hut. "I'm afraid that boy will not disclose the ibis's location," Hans said. "And…he belched in my face." "Nice thinking, Hans," Ivan sneered. "And you smell like recently eaten cake."

Meanwhile, Tintin was already becoming sicker than ever. "Are we there yet, Lilli?" Tintin groaned, sweating crazily. "I think my nausea is getting worse." "Now now, don't worry. We're almost there," Lilli said, trying to calm him down. "Don't you worry, we're almost…huh?" Lilli and Tintin then found themselves face to face with other farmers in the veranda, all staring in confusion. "Lilli, what do you think you're doing here?" Thomas whispered. "Can't you see I'm having a private meeting here?" "Sorry Dad," Lilli whispered. "It's Tintin. He's…" Thomas found Tintin bending over by the fence of the veranda. "Tintin? Could you please come over here?" Thomas said. "What do you think you're doing?" "I was," Tintin began to speak, "I was just…wondering…How far are…the fjords from here?" "Thomas led himself to believe that Tintin was hallucinating. Starting to gag, Tintin covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh no," Lilli muttered. "I think Tintin's about to…"

Suddenly, without warning, Tintin hunched over and vomited on the porch violently. The other astonished farmers looked on with disgust and distanced away from the mess. Thomas held on tightly to Lilli as Tintin continued vomiting. As soon as he finished, there was nothing but a large mess of vomit on the porch. Soon, the farmers began to whisper aloud. "I know," one farmer said. "Whatever that boy ate must have not sat too well in his belly." "Now what in Odin's name could've caused this boy an upset stomach?" another farmer asked quietly.

Soon, Thomas began to notice that the farmers were slowly beginning to walk away from the veranda. "You know what, Thomas?" one of those farmers said. "Me and the other chums are leaving right now." "Wait! Hear me out! I'm sorry about what happened tonight!" Thomas begged. "You know, I think I've seen enough for one night," the farmer said. Then, he and the others left with a disgusted look in their faces.

That was it. They had all left. Thomas buried his face in his hand, sighing heavily. "Daddy? Are you okay?" Lilli asked calmly. "I'm fine, Lilli. Really," Thomas said. "Just go take Tintin to his room." "But, Daddy," Lilli said, "it's my fault, actually. I…" "Lilli, that's enough," Thomas ordered. "Listen, please," Lilli persisted. "Tintin was so sick, I tried to get him to you. But you were so busy, and your meeting, I…I just…I…" "Lilli, I said that's quite enough!" Thomas snapped. "I don't want to hear another word about it, and that's final!"

Lilli's eyes welled up with tears. "Daddy?" Lilli whimpered tearfully. "Oh, I'm sorry I snapped at you, dear," Thomas said, patting her on the shoulder. "It's just that…it's this whole meeting that's gotten me stressed out. I couldn't contain myself." "I understand," Thomas said. Tintin, meanwhile, solemnly hiccupped in reply. "So that's that," Thomas muttered. "Lilli, do be a dear and take Tintin inside to his bedroom. I've got this mess to clean up." "Okay," Lilli said, then walked Tintin into the house. Thomas then got a mop and began to mop up the vomit on the floor of the veranda.

Inside the bedroom, still sick and in his pajamas, Tintin moaned dizzily as Lilli tucked him into bed. "Gosh, what a rough night," Lilli said. "Stuff like this never happens in Hardanger County." By then, Tintin's stomach was now gurgling louder than ever. "Lilli," Tintin said hoarsely, "I'm sorry for embarrassing your father like that. I don't know what happened; it all just came out all of a sudden." "Don't worry," Lilli said, patting the bed. "You just try to get some sleep, Tintin. Tomorrow will be better." "Good night," Tintin said as the burning embers of the fireplace warmed his cold bed. "Good night," Lilli said while walking out the door. Trying to forget his aching stomach, Tintin closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	9. The Sickness

Chapter 9: The sickness

Shortly after Lilli had blown out her bedside candlelight, she tucked herself into bed and went to sleep. Throughout those last two minutes in which she slept, she smiled, remembering when she said good night to Tintin and wishing him a peaceful sleep.

But for Tintin, however, his sleep turned out to be anything but peaceful. Feeling so sick from the cake he ate earlier that night, Tintin turned over in his bed, trying to get comfortable. But it was no use to him. That awful and slimy sensation in his stomach just kept getting stronger and stronger. Weakly, he rolled over in his bed, trying to ignore the painful feeling inside of him. The sickeningly awful gurgling that escaped from Tintin's stomach grew even louder. At that moment, he began to hear voices in his mind, a cold sweat leaking from his forehead.

 _There is no cure for this so-called mephyllanthostritis._ Tintin felt something slimy in his throat. _I can't believe you're the only person with this illness._ More gurgles from the stomach. _The only cure is the violet ibis itself._ He felt crawling sensations in his skin. _Maybe one day, you'll get to revel at the ibis's true glory._ Tintin's chest was heaving. _I don't know if there is anything I can do to help him._ He was sweating even more than ever. _I'm sorry I snapped at you, Lilli._ Tintin suddenly had the urge to throw up again. _Tomorrow will be better. You'll see._ His body came to the floor and…

Lilli was suddenly awakened by a loud THUD! "Huh?" Lilli muttered, yawning. It was nearly eleven-thirty at night. "What could that have been?" she wondered quietly. Still wearing her flannel nightgown, Lilli got out of bed and put her slippers on. Lighting a candle, she began to tiptoe out of her room. "I hope nobody has broken into the house," she muttered to herself. Holding the candlelight, Lilli slowly closed the door behind her.

Tiptoeing into the kitchen, she surveyed the dining room to check if any thieves have broken into the house. Fortunately, the kitchen appeared empty. Next, Lilli checked the living room, which turned out to be safe. "What could it have been?" she whispered. _What are you talking about?_ she thought. _It must have come from somewhere over here._ Lilli tried to figure out what could've caused the loud thump. Suddenly, her hunch came true until…

"Ohhhhhhhh," Lilli then began to hear a loud yet slightly muffled moan. And judging by its tone, Lilli guessed it as being a male voice. "Tintin," Lilli then realized who that voice belonged to. As she made her way up the stairs, Lilli tried to make sure that the steps did not creak. Following the moan, Lilli heard an even louder moan. "Ohhhhhh!" the voice seemed to cry out agonizingly. Finally approaching Tintin's room, Lilli then opened the door. Suddenly, she screamed in horror.

Tintin was on the floor, writhing and moaning in sickening pain. He was curled up on the wooden floor, grasping his stomach with both arms. His head hurt and his chest was aching furiously. "Tintin! Are you okay?" Lilli panicked, trying to pick Tintin up. She saw that his eyes were bloodshot, his face and nose were red, and his forehead felt hot. His skin had become a sickeningly deadly shade of white. "Tintin!" Lilli shouted while shaking Tintin awake. Moaning, Tintin finally managed to open his eyes halfway, but he still looked sick. His chest heaved up and down until, finally, Lilli could wait no longer.

"DADDY!" Lilli cried out in agony. "DADDY! PLEASE COME IN HERE! SOMETHING'S GONE HORRIBLY WRONG WITH TINTIN!" Meanwhile, in his own bedroom, Thomas was awakened by Lilli's frantic screaming. "Ugh, what could it be right now?" he muttered lazily. Putting on his bedroom slippers, he sauntered over to the door.

"Lilli," Thomas muttered while opening the door to Tintin's room. "What is it that you could possibly want? Don't you see that it's nearly 12 o'clock at midnight…?" Thomas finally opened his eyes as he saw the frightening scene before him. Kneeling down, he gently touched Tintin's chest, but it only seemed to make Tintin cry out in pain. "Tintin, are you okay?" Thomas asked. "Where do you hurt?" And even though Tintin was extremely sick, he managed to speak. "My head," he said rather hoarsely. "My chest, my stomach…everything hurts." "Lilli, since when did this happen?" Thomas asked. "Just recently," Lilli said. "I woke up hearing a thud, I went to go check if any robbers broke into the house. Then I heard a moan coming from this room. And that's when I found Tintin on the floor."

"Hmm," Thomas said as he felt Tintin's forehead. "He's obviously burning up with a fever of some sort, maybe a cold. But I'll have to call Evan to come and check him." Thomas then rushed to the telephone and dialed Evan's phone number.

At his own home, Evan was quietly asleep when he was suddenly awakened by the phone ringing on his nightstand. Weakly, he picked up the phone while still lying in bed and answered it. "Evan Sveidhargen," he yawned. "How may I help…" His answer was cut off when he heard Thomas's voice on the phone saying, "Evan, you need to come over here as soon as possible. It's an emergency." "What is it?" Evan said, finally awake. "It's Tintin," Thomas said with a dark voice.

After a few minutes of dressing into his clothes and lab coat, Evan immediately called John and Rosalyn to come over to Thomas's house. As soon as they arrived with the essential medical equipment, including pain meds, a stethoscope, blood pressure measuring device, and an IV, they all arrived at the farmhouse. "Evan, why did you make us rise at twelve in the evening?" John asked. "There's not much time to explain," Evan said. "We really do have a dire situation on our hands." Rosalyn soon heard moans coming from the upper window and said, "Looks like that's the reason why we're here. Let's go check."

As soon as Evan, John, and Rosalyn entered the house and went upstairs to the bedroom, they all gaped in horror as they saw the sick and deadly pale Tintin seated on the floor before them. Rosalyn was the first to approach Tintin. "Are you all right, dear?" she asked. Tintin cocked his head weakly, and nodded no. "Thomas, help me get him on the bed," Rosalyn ordered. Thomas obeyed and he and Rosalyn set Tintin on the bed.

Evan kneeled next to Tintin and felt his forehead. "He's burning with a fever," Evan told John, who applied his stethoscope. He put the cold stethoscope on Tintin's chest, and Evan and the others had to cover their ears, for they heard poor Tintin utter a high-pitched wail. "His heart's beating slow," John had said. "There's no way to bring it back to normal rhythm. Everything in him is completely liquefied. His heart, his chest, his stomach…everythin's completely shut down." Evan commanded Tintin to lie down on his back. Using swift but gentle force, Evan gently pressed down on Tintin's aching stomach, which made him utter a ghostly wail. "Oh dear," Evan told Rosalyn. "It's indigestion!" "Lilli, what was the last thing that Tintin ate?" Rosalyn asked. "Because I think that whatever he ate must have upset his stomach." "He just ate a cake, that's all," Lilli said. "It had some white powdery stuff in it, and he said it tasted funny." "Lilli, I think that cake was laced with cocaine!" Rosalyn said. "That drug alone could kill a man in just one minute. And that cake Tintin ate was full of it. It's going to take full effect on him slowly, but it'll shorten his life."

"No! That can't be true!" Lilli wailed. "There's got to be some other way to help him! But what can we do? We aren't doctors!" "Wait!" Evan said. "There is another way." "What is there?" Lilli asked. "Do you know anything about the legend of the violet ibis?" Rosalyn asked. "Yes. Everyone here has known about it," Lilli said. "That's it!" John exclaimed. "What's it?" Thomas asked while caressing Tintin's weak and pale hand. "The violet ibis can possibly be the answer to Tintin's situation!" Evan said. Lilli gasped. "But that doesn't mean…!" she said. "Yes Lilli," Evan said with a grave look in his face. "We'll need the violet ibis to save Tintin's life."


	10. The Long Journey

Chapter 10: The long journey

"Lilli," Thomas told his daughter, "I want you back here in five minutes, ready to leave. Just put some clothes on. I don't care why." "Don't we have to get Tintin dressed too?" Lilli asked. "Think about it," Thomas said. "If he was able to move his arms and legs, he'd be dead at that time." "Oh," Lilli said. Then, she headed out of the room to change in her clothes.

By then, Tintin was coughing so violently that it seemed to crack his chest wide open, which became extremely painful. Snowy began to whine as he sniffed his friend's hand. "How is he, Doctor?" Thomas asked. "He's okay," Evan said, feeling Tintin's forehead. "He's just extremely sick. His heart rate's slowing down, and there seems to be some kind of gurgling noise coming from his stomach. That may be a bad sign." "Okay, I have the pulse rate system ready to go," John said, arriving with a particular device. "Strap it on his arm," Evan commanded. Tintin felt John's cold fingers closing around his arm, and he almost cried out in pain and fear. "Don't get scared, don't get scared," John reassured Tintin. "You'll be fine." Soon, the device began to blink to life. A red line on the small screen began to indicate Tintin's pulse as it zigzagged across the screen.

Minutes later, Lilli came back, fully dressed and with a knapsack full of supplies ready to go. "Take this blanket," Thomas said, handing Lilli a wool blanket. "Wrap it around the boy." Lilli obeyed, and she wrapped the sick Tintin with the blanket. "Carry him downstairs," Evan said. Thomas and Rosalyn, with Snowy tagging along, then lifted Tintin and brought him downstairs, where there was a white stretcher waiting for them. With raspy breathing, Tintin was placed on the stretcher and wheeled out in front of the van. Snowy popped up beside him and pounced on his chest. "Ow," Tintin mumbled. "Snowy…" Soon, everybody piled on to the van and drove to the Norway docks.

Dawn was nearly approaching. The van had pulled up in front of the docks, and Evan was the first to get out. The others stayed behind to take care of Tintin. However, his breathing turned to broken gasps of breath. Snowy began to cry out in howling pain for Rosalyn. Rosalyn saw this and grabbed an oxygen mask to press air into Tintin's lungs.

Meanwhile, Evan reached one of the ship men at the docks. "Sir! Please help us!" Evan told the man. "It's an emergency!" "Naw, I don't let people rent no dinghy in this here time o' night," the man simply replied. "Sir, you don't understand," Evan said. "I have a sick boy with me." "So ya do," the man replied vaguely. "And what might he be sick of? The flu? Common cold? Or maybe…?" "He has the dreaded Norway fever," Evan said. "And we need to get to the Island of Secrets to obtain the violet ibis in order to restore his health." The man paused in shock. It was evident that he was a devout believer of the violet ibis himself. "You and the others come with me," he whispered. "I think I've got a way to help you out."

Evan, however, did not notice Hans and Ivan by the van in which the others were inside. "The fools!" Ivan whispered as he heard everything. "They're going to claim the ibis for themselves?! How dare those heathens claim our prize before we do!" "Well, instead of just shooting them, why don't we just sneak on board the ship without them noticing?" Hans asked. "True, true," Ivan said. "We'll execute your plan, then. It's a lot easier without guns."

Opening the back doors of the van, Evan found Thomas attempting to pump air into Tintin's body. By then, Tintin looked more like a pale, dead corpse, and his lips turned into a violent shade of blue. "Guys, hurry up now," Evan told the others. "We already have transportation covered. Everyone get off the van now!" Thomas could not help but almost cry when he had to pry Tintin's fingers from the threshold of the stretcher and carry him out. "You're okay," Rosalyn calmly assured while helping Thomas carry Tintin out of the van. Lilli then grabbed Snowy and leaped out of the van. "Come on, let's go," Evan told the others as they all came aboard the ship. Yet they did not notice Hans and Ivan sneaking aboard and into the hull.

"Here you are," Thomas told Tintin as he gently placed him on a soft bench on the lower deck. "You'll be safe here." All Tintin could do was groan and watch helplessly as his breath created a faint mist on the window. On the upper deck, Lilli was even more worried than ever. "Will he be okay?" Lilli asked. "He'll be fine," Evan said. "Besides, the pulse rate system he has on will indicate how much he has left to live," John said. But that seemed to worry Lilli more. "Don't worry, he'll be fine," Rosalyn told Lilli. Soon, the engine of the small ship rumbled to life, and soon the crew was off on their long journey to the Island of Secrets to obtain the violet ibis's healing powers.

A light fog began to make the sea look like ghostly waters as soon as dawn was slowly approaching the horizon. Soon, the eerie silence was pierced by a shrill moan. "Come on, Lilli," Rosalyn said. "I think that was Tintin. He probably doesn't look too well." Lilli silently obeyed and accompanied. And boy, was Rosalyn right when they found Tintin banging his head against the walls and moaning aimlessly. Rosalyn immediately rushed to Tintin's side and held his head. "Hush dear, hush," Rosalyn said in a matter that was reminiscent of a mother trying to comfort her frightened child. "It's all right. You'll be okay."

Tintin could only moan in pain while holding his stomach in agony. He was rocking back and forth violently. "What's the matter, Tintin?" Lilli asked sadly. Though he was sick, Tintin picked up his head and managed to tell her, "I'm…going…to…throw up." It was true, for Tintin began to feel seasick. "Lilli, get him a bucket. Hurry," Rosalyn demanded.

Minutes later, Rosalyn held Tintin's shoulders while he vomited in a plastic waste bin that Lilli fetched for him. "Good thing I've got plenty of experience with these kinds of situations," Rosalyn told Lilli. "I've seen kids with food poisoning or salmonella who often do this routinely." After Tintin had finished, Rosalyn said, "Lilli, be a dear and go empty out the waste bin outside. Then go and wash it; we don't want this room smelling like food poisoning." Lilli nodded and went outside.

Outside, on the upper deck, Lilli took the waste bin and dumped the smelly remnants of vomit into the water below. Thomas noticed her and strolled up to her. "What happened?" he asked. "Oh, nothing much," Lilli replied. "Tintin kind of threw up a little." "Oh," Thomas said as soon as Lilli finished emptying the waste bin. She then handed it to Thomas, who then sprayed the inside with a hose.

Back inside, Rosalyn walked Tintin over to a sink to rinse his mouth. After handing him a cup of water to rinse his mouth, Rosalyn watched Tintin gargle the water. "There you go," she said. "You've looked as though you've just vomited up your toenails, eh?" Rosalyn laughed when she had said that. But Tintin never found anything funny about that joke, so he moaned in reply.

Soon, Lilli returned. "Ah! You're back!" Rosalyn said. "How is he?" Lilli asked. Rosalyn embraced Tintin, who felt even worse than ever. "He's still sick," Rosalyn said. Tintin held his stomach and moaned. The gurgling noise in his stomach seemed to grow louder. "Hmm, maybe he's probably hungry," Rosalyn told Lilli. "Why don't you go get him some food?" Lilli obeyed and ran off. Soon, she returned with a plate of bread. "Here you are, Tintin," Rosalyn said, holding up a jam tart for Tintin. But as she tried to feed it to him, Tintin slowly turned his head away.

"Oh, don't be that way," Rosalyn said. "You can't just sit there feeling sick with your wee tummy rumbling, don't you?" She gave Tintin the jam tart again, but Tintin refused, telling her, "I…don't…want it." "Please Tintin, you have to eat something," Lilli pleaded. Once again, Tintin said no. Suddenly, Tintin let out a yawn. He then lifted his bare feet up on Lilli's lap. Then, he laid on Rosalyn's lap, moving around a little to get comfortable. He then closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Evan! Evan!" Thomas said, gazing at the horizon. "Look!" The two men looked, and sure enough, they could see a faint spiky chunk of jagged rock far in the distance. "We've made it," John said. Rushing down to the lower compartments, Thomas found Lilli sitting with Tintin, who was now sleeping on Rosalyn's lap with his feet propped comfortably on Lilli's lap. "We're here," Thomas said. "Do you hear that, Tintin?" Rosalyn said, gently shaking Tintin awake. "We made it. Now we just have to save you from dying." Tintin could only moan in reply. Though he was technically concerned, Thomas helped Rosalyn pick Tintin up carefully without straining him too much. Lilli propped the door open for them as they walked to the upper deck. A bridge was lowered before the crew, and they began a trek through the dense forests.

John noticed that Tintin was shivering from the freezing cold air. "Just hang on," John said, draping his coat over Tintin's body. "You'll be okay." Tintin barely had enough strength in him to smile. "Almost there, bud," Lilli said as they continued their trek in the dense forests of the island. "How's the boy doing, Evan?" Thomas asked. "His pulse is slowing down," Evan said. ""His heart rate's going lower by the minute," John said. "He's losing his breath!" It was indeed true, for Tintin was now breathing in short, whooping breaths as he coughed more.

"Look!' Evan said, pointing forward. "A tree stump! We'll let Tintin rest there!" The gang then picked up their pace and headed toward the stump, which was located in a lush part of the woods surrounded by a circle of trees. They hurried to that spot so that they could rest for a few minutes. Thomas and Rosalyn were very careful in lowering Tintin down so that he was finally seated. A blanket was placed before him so that he could be clean. But Tintin was near death and still losing breath.

"Okay, now one of us has to go out and find the ibis, and then you'll have to come back here and give the medicine to Tintin before he gives out his last breath," Thomas said while kneeling to Tintin's side. "Do we have any volunteers?" "We can't just leave Tintin behind," Rosalyn said. "Without us to care for him, Tintin will die for sure." Thomas looked over to Lilli and gently told her, "Lilli, as much as I hate having to do this, you're going to have to get the ibis yourself."

"What? Me?" Lilli asked in outrage. "But I…I…I don't know anything about the ibis!" "Look honey, I know this seems tough on you, but you have to do it," Thomas told his daughter. "John will go with you." "What about you?" Lilli asked. "I have to stay behind with Evan and Rosalyn," Thomas said. "To take care of Tintin." "But I don't want to leave Tintin behind!" Lilli said, welling up with tears. "We'll never reach him in time with the ibis! He'll be dead by the time we get to him! It'll be impossible to think that I, the simple daughter of a sheep farmer, will ever be asked to obtain an object of the highest divinity ever known to man just so that she can…"

Lilli suddenly heard a sharp coughing noise, and gasped in horror as she saw Tintin utter horrifyingly high-pitched gasps of breath as he coughed. "We're losing him!" Evan said as he gently pushed Tintin's chest while Rosalyn strapped an oxygen mask around Tintin's nose and mouth and pumped air into his lungs.

"Please Lilli, just listen to me," Thomas said, putting his hands on Lilli's shoulders. "You have to do this. Please. Do this…for Tintin. He's depending on you to help him." Lilli turned to face the narrow path lined by trees, and then she faced Tintin, lying against the stump, breathing heavily. With a single tear rolling down her eye, Lilli whispered, "Okay Daddy. I will do it."

"That's my girl," Thomas said, gently ruffling his daughter's hair. He waved goodbye as he saw Lilli and John make their way into the woods. Thomas then kneeled down beside Tintin and clasped his pale hand. "Don't worry. She'll help you in no time," Thomas reassured him. Even though he wore the oxygen mask on his face, Tintin could not help but smile. He knew that everything will turn out okay.


	11. Entering the Cave

Chapter 11: Entering the Cave

Lilli could hardly bear to accept the fact that she had to leave Tintin behind so that she could go off and find the ibis herself. It was haunting her mind as she wandered off farther from the others. But John was persistent for her. "Don't you worry, lassie," he told her. "That lad'll be all right, don't you worry." "But he won't make it by the time we come back," Lilli told him. "He'll be fine," John said.

But Lilli was not okay. Even if Tintin was not with her, she could still hear his pained and frantic coughing haunt her memory. Even when she shut her eyes to erase that memory, she could still see Tintin lying on the bed, his face white, his chest heaving, and his pale, bloodshot eyes. Trying so hard, she shook her head violently, trying to get the memory out of her. "What's wrong, my dear?" John asked. "Nothing," Lilli said, a tear coming to her eye. "It's just that…every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is Tintin dying every second. And I can still hear him coughing in pain. I don't know what to do." "Hey, calm down," John said. "We're doing everything we can to help him. We got Evan, Rosie, and that father of yours tending to him. But he'll be fine."

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From behind nearby bushes, Hans and Ivan had watched the two walking along the dirt trail. They hid almost immediately once they saw Lilli and John treading the dirt path. "There they are," Hans said. "Who?" Ivan asked. "Some girl with a…doctor, I believe?" Hans said. "Maybe they're the ones to target." "Fool! We're targeting that boy!" Ivan hissed. "The one who is sick?" Hans asked. "No, the boy with the jelly-filled pastries; yes, I mean the sick boy!" Ivan retorted. "Those two are just trying to claim the ibis for themselves and revive that boy! But if they don't catch up to it…"

"Shall I raise the alarm?" Hans asked. He withdrew his gun from his bag. "No," Ivan told him. "Gunfire will make them aware of the impending troubles that will lie within. I have a much better idea." He picked up a stone from the ground. "Once I throw this pebble, it will make them wary of the surroundings." "And then we open fire?" Hans asked. "And then we open fire," Ivan concluded. Hans raised the barrel of his gun. "I love a happy ending," he muttered.

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As Lilli and John continued further into the woods, they stared at the long path before them, which led them even deeper through an inset of trees. Lilli was shivering from the cold, so she unwrapped her sweater from her waist and put it on. She then noticed the crystal necklace, the one she had bought for herself during the Falling Stars Festival two nights ago, in her sweater pocket. To Lilli, this was another haunting reminder that Tintin's own life was counting on her to get the ibis. She quickly put the crystal necklace back in her pocket.

Suddenly, Lilli began to see visions of what happened the night before, of Tintin collapsing from his bed, and on the ship, where he banged his head against the windows while moaning, and of him seated on the ground, pale and sort of dead. Just the thought of seeing Tintin dying right in front of her made Lilli tear up. She then tried to ram her head straight into a tree, but was then stopped by John.

"And what do you think you're doing, lassie?" John asked. "You'll get amnesia if you bang your head against the tree." "I know," Lilli said. "It's just that…these strange visions keep appearing in my mind. And they're all about Tintin dying of this illness. And every time I think about him, I try to rid myself of that memory."

"Hurting your head is no joke," John said. As they continued walking, John comforted Lilli. "The boy will be all right. He'll get better once he drinks that sweet nectar from the ibis. Then, he'll be back home, clean, happy, and healthy." "I guess so," Lilli said. "And we've only got a few hours left till we obtain the ibis. By that time, Tintin will only have a few moments left to live…" John noticed Lilli was trembling when he said that. "Oh, I'm sorry," he told her. "Let's just pretend we didn't say that, okay?" They then continued walking.

As they continued the trek up the path, Lilli sensed a sudden stillness in the cool air. The leaves were rustling gently on the trees as a cool breeze was setting in. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a gunshot pierced the air.

"What was that?" Lilli asked. "I don't know," John said. "Could be something dangerous, I'm not sure." Soon, another gunshot rang out in the distance. "They're opening fire!" Lilli said. "We have to run now!" "Agreed!" John said. As the two of them ran, more and more gunshots rang out. "We have to find the ibis as soon as possible. Am I right, dear?" John said.

"If enduring this much danger is enough to save us so we can get to the ibis, then that'll be enough to help Tintin!" Lilli cried out. "But be careful!" John exclaimed as he ran after Lilli. "Those shots may possibly damage something important in you!" "I don't care!" Lilli said. "Tintin will be dead before we can even get the ibis! I am not taking that chance! And we must go through those woods! Together!"

As far as they ran, they were unsure of where else to turn. Gunshots were firing from all over, occasionally hitting trees and rocks. Lilli and John both ran together as more gunshots fired out from nowhere. By then, it only seemed like a matter of time before Hans and Ivan finally saw their plan falling into place. "They're almost near the cave," Hans told Ivan. "I can feel them getting closer to it."

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As Lilli and John were running deeper into the woods, the gunshots seemed to fade out of existence. However, it still felt as if they were being followed by someone, or something. "Come on!" John exclaimed. "We still have a chance to outrun whoever it is that caused those open gunshots!"

Lilli stopped running to catch her breath. As she did, saw something out of the corner of her eye. It looked like a giant, spiky chunk of rock with a large hole that was hollowed out to look like an entrance. Lilli squinted her eyes to get a closer look; she saw that there was some writing around the entrance. As she tried to look even close, Lilli gasped in shock. Those weren't gibberish markings; they were ancient Norse rune markings! It was the Cave of Wonders!

"John! I found the cave!" Lilli exclaimed. "Follow me!" "What are you saying?" John asked. "There's no time for realization! We've got other problems to deal with!" "Come on, we have to go!" Lilli said, running off. John couldn't leave her behind, so he ran along. Soon, the two were inside the cave, safe and sound.


	12. Finding the Ibis

Chapter 12: Finding the ibis

After finally running from the ever pounding sounds of the gunshots fired off, Lilli and John were safely inside the cave. All around them, the cave was dark and musty, with a bit of humidity leaking from above. Some of the cavern walls were intricately carved to look like the flowing waves of a churning ocean. Multicolored gems dotted the mountainous walls of the cave, complete with a crystal-blue pool of water. Though this was a sight to behold, the silence was deafening.

"Oh, my word," John muttered under his breath. "It's…so beautiful." "It is," Lilli said. "But John, remember. We're here on an important assignment." "Ah, yes. Of course," John told Lilli. "We're still here to find the ibis to obtain its healing power and give it to Tintin, so that he'll be cured, right?" "Yes, and we can't waste any time just taking in this cave's splendor," Lilli said. "We still have to help Tintin and cure him before the Norway fever kills him."

Together, the two walked through the dark caverns, trying to find the ibis. The overhanging stalactites of the cave ceilings were so fragile and moist that one booming voice could threaten to topple them all. They found a giant waterfall that sent the humidity cascading over the cave. John noticed the cave walls and found some drawings on them. They looked so ancient, almost as if they had been there for years, but they were ageless. The cave drawings depicted a woman in a flowing dress, gesturing toward a circle of fairies circled around the ibis.

"Now," Lilli whispered to herself, "if I were the violet ibis, where would I be hiding?" She looked everywhere, from behind the stalagmite pillars to the gem-encrusted walls of the cave. She felt as if this search was taking forever. But she couldn't stay long. She had to help Tintin as soon as possible. As she continued her search, she ventured farther from the cascading waterfall. That was when she happened to step on an upturned stone and fell.

"Ow!" Lilli said, rubbing her head. "Oh, this time I really did hurt my…" She paused, for she saw a beam of yellow light. Instantly drawn by the light, Lilli wandered through a dark tunnel in the cave.

As she walked through the tunnel, she noticed the cavern walls beside her. The walls had drawings depicting women in flowing dresses or tunics. Beside each one of them was a poem, written in runes. Though she was a bit rusty on deciphering the runes, Lilli examined the runes closely and tried reading them. "Enter my child, but be warned," she read. "Powers of great wisdom be seen from thy norm."

She continued reading as she followed the drawings. "Enter this cave, but take heed," she read. "Only be wise if eternity's what thou need." "Night has the day, and stars have the sky, for if thou is worthy, here is where the ibis will lie."

After reading the poem, Lilli suddenly realized that she had reached the end of the cave. That was when something caught her attention. There, standing in front of her, was the violet ibis, resting peacefully on a pillar of stone. "John!" she called out. "John! I have found it!"

No sooner than he heard the cry that John came racing through the tunnel to meet up with Lilli. From where he stood, John grabbed his rifle and began bounding through the tunnels. "Lilli, hold on! I'm coming!" John shouted. "Okay, but please hurry!" Lilli said. "Before the ibis disappears!" "I'll be there!" John exclaimed in reply. "Just don't shout so loud! These stalactites up here are so flimsy, they could possibly fall on our heads!" John grabbed his satchel and quickly loaded his rifle. After that, he took off into the caverns.

Making sure he did not bump into the rough edges of the cavernous tunnels, John began following Lilli's voice as she kept calling for him. John did not even pause to look at the ancient writings on the walls of the tunnels. He already knew that the ibis was not too far from where he was. Yet he was uncertain that the ibis that Lilli had found was the right one. He did not stop running until he reached the end of the tunnels.

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"Lilli!" John said, panting heavily as he reached the center of the cave where Lilli had been standing. He then took a second to glance straight toward the stone pillar that held the ibis. He was very much astounded by the awesome splendor of the majestic flower standing before him. Touching the petals gently, he caressed the flower in his arms. Slowly, he turned to Lilli.

"This flower," he said to her, "I can't believe it's really here." "It is so beautiful," Lilli said. "If only the others could see this," John whispered. "Surely, they would bless Valhalla that we have finally found the ibis at last." "Well, we can't just be standing here admiring the ibis," Lilli said. "We still have to take the ibis to Tintin so that he'll finally be cured." "Okay," John said. He then took out his pocket knife from inside his lab coat and handed it to Lilli. Taking a deep breath, Lilli sighed heavily. "Here goes," Lilli whispered. "For Tintin." She then brought the knife's blade to the ibis's stem and…

"What the?" she muttered in shock. To her surprise, the ibis's stem didn't cut! "What's going on?" John asked. "The knife won't cut through the stem!" Lilli exclaimed. "Impossible!" John said. He then took up the knife and attempted to cut the stem off the pedestal. But the stem still would not cut. "But…but how?" John asked. "I don't understand. I…"

"Put your hands up!"

Suddenly, Lilli and John heard a voice shouting to them, and they immediately paused, their hands frozen over their heads. There, entering the cavern holding the ibis, was Hans and Ivan! Ivan pointed a gun straight at Lilli, while John was being cornered by Hans as he edged him closer to the wall.

"You!" Lilli cried out. "What're you two doing here?!" "I consider myself a reasonable man," Ivan said. "I set certain demands here, and I expect them to be _obeyed_." "I'd also like to know the same thing too," John said. "Why are you two following us to the ibis?"

"As you can see," Ivan sneered, "we have all heard of the legendary entity of Norway known as the violet ibis. Even the local sergeant's daughter herself had found the ibis, and has since then disappeared from the face of the earth. People all across the world have hoped and prayed they would eventually find the ibis in order to rid the world of infectious diseases, more specifically, this so-called Norway fever." Lilli shuddered. "Tintin," she said under her breath. "And when we first heard that that boy who was staying with you, this 'Tintin', was infected with the disease, we overheard you disclosing information about the violet ibis."

"But…how did you know about the ibis?" Lilli demanded. "Why do you even want the ibis?!" "We wanted you to disclose the location of the ibis so we could find it ourselves," Ivan retorted. "We would hope to find the ibis and sell it to drug dealers so we could make millions off of that plant!" "All this time, this was just a concocted scheme to blackmail medical drugs everywhere?!" Lilli asked. "So that's it? Doctors lose their jobs, and you two stay in power?" "Yes, pretty much," Ivan said. "And we'll do our part to eradicate every single medical drug in Norway and keep it that way." "You two are monsters!" John exclaimed.

Hans approached Lilli. "You know, this conversation looks very familiar," he said, cornering Lilli. "Oh, yes. That's right. This is just like that time when we tried to get you to disclose the location of the ibis…right after we gave you that tainted cake to feed to your friend." Suddenly, all of Lilli's fears and emotions came crashing down. "That means that cake…" John muttered in shock. "You were the ones that poisoned Tintin with that cake," Lilli said, her voice raising. "You two were responsible for making his condition worse. You both were the reason why Tintin's dying! You beasts!" Angrily, Lilli charged, only to be caught by Hans's arms.

"Hans, keep her restrained," Ivan demanded. "We don't want her escaping." "Aye, sir," Hans replied, locking his arms. Ivan then took out a small scythe, and raised it high in the air. "No!" Lilli shouted, tears streaming down her face. But her pleas didn't work. As soon as Ivan raised the blade, he brought it down, drawing it closer to the stem, and…

Suddenly, the ibis's unbreakable stem caused the scythe blade to shatter into pieces. "What the…?!" Ivan muttered angrily. "Curses! Why won't the stem break?!" He turned to Lilli. "You!" he exploded. "Tell me why this stem won't break apart! Tell me right now!" "I won't tell!" Lilli shouted back. "Then you leave me no other choice!" Ivan retorted, pulling out his gun. Pointing the nose of the gun at Lilli's head, Ivan shouted, "I demand that you tell me why the stem will not cut off! Or else, I will fire a bullet into your head!" Lilli kept silent. "Fine. Have it your way," Ivan muttered. "Don't do it!" John pleaded. Ivan was about to pull the trigger, until…

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a spear came down and sliced the gun! "Wha…?" Lilli asked. "Unhand the weapon!" a female voice shouted. Lilli turned and saw a female warrior wearing a white, short-skirted tunic underneath purple and gold armor. She had blond hair tied in a high ponytail. "The keepers of the ibis!" John whispered.

"Thieves? In the Cave of Wonders?" the female guard asked. "Well, I…um…I-I don't…" Lilli started to say. "Enough!" the guard shouted. "You! Unhand the girl!" Hans obeyed and let go of Lilli. Lilli then ran toward the ibis, but was halted by two similar female soldiers, halting her with their spears. "The thief has been apprehended," the soldier told the guard. "Take them to Her Majesty's throne room!" the guard ordered. Soon, Lilli and John, along with Hans and Ivan, were being held prisoner. Lilli's heart pounded with fury. What was she supposed to do?


	13. Meeting the Violet Goddess

Chapter 13: Meeting the Violet Goddess

Soon, after they had been taken prisoner by the female soldiers, Lilli and the others were being taken through a deep tunnel, far away from the ibis. Lilli was growing worried. Why had those soldiers prevented her from obtaining the ibis? This was going to be a serious problem. If those soldiers were holding her captive, then she wouldn't get the ibis in time. She and John wouldn't be able to make it back to the other doctors fast. And Tintin would probably die sad, alone, and afraid.

Nervous, she tried to talk to the female guard. "Um…excuse me?" she asked timidly. "Do you mind letting me and my friend here, um…leave right now? We have to…" "SILENCE!" the guard thundered. Scared out of her mind, Lilli kept her mouth shut. From afar, Hans and Ivan snickered. "It's okay," John whispered to Lilli.

"No talking!" a female soldier snapped at John, scolding him. "Keep your mouths shut!" "Okay, that was very rude," John whispered under his breath. But Lilli did not bother to listen to him. She was still secretly worried about Tintin. She desperately wanted to help Tintin so bad.

During the rest of that time, the guards led the group through what seemed to be the longest tunnel in the caverns. As they were approaching a lit opening, Lilli braced herself.

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Soon, the guards led the whole group into what looked like a magnificent throne room. Almost every wall and doorway was lined with gold. There were cave drawings that depicted lush, flowering gardens, peacocks, fairies, cornucopias of fruits, and women in flowing dresses. From above, there hung a chandelier made of pure amethyst gems.

As soon as Lilli and the others had stopped walking, the female guard turned to face them. "What's she going to do to us?" Lilli asked. "There's no telling what could happen," John told her. "I've read in the Norse mythology books that the keepers of the ibis are the most feared warriors. Anyone who tried to mess with them could meet an untimely death."

The female soldier, however, did not ask for a bunch of loafers standing around. "Kneel before Her Majesty!" she commanded, her voice echoing in the room. And just like that, Lilli and John, along with Hans and Ivan, got to their knees. Soon, a girl with brown hair and a flowing teal-green dress, appeared before them. "Hmm," she mumbled, with a hint of nasal resonance in her tone. "So these four are the thieving savages." Lilli stared at her in wonder. "She must be the royal adviser!" she wondered.

"Who are you, and what're you doing here, trying to steal the ibis?" the adviser demanded. "We caught these four attempting to cut off the ibis's stem and make off with it," a soldier replied. The adviser then looked straight at Lilli. "State your business!" she exclaimed. "I, um…my friend and I need the ibis," Lilli answered. "Lies!" the adviser snapped. "That is no excuse to be gallivanting all willy-nilly, attempting to make off with our priceless jewel!"

"Kairi," a calm voice said. The adviser, who was obviously Kairi, turned anxiously. "Y-yes, my goddess?" she stuttered. "Why are you lashing out against our guests?" the voice asked. "I don't know!" Kairi replied. "I was just about to tell her that…" "Hush," the voice told her gently. "I'll take it from here."

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Suddenly, the row of female soldiers then began to move. They parted their ways to let someone pass through. Soon, Lilli found herself staring at the most strikingly beautiful woman ever seen. She had big blue eyes, flowing golden hair, and wore purple and gold sleeveless armor, with a white flowing skirt. "The Violet Goddess!" Lilli whispered under her breath.

The Violet Goddess turned to face Lilli and the others. "You tried to steal the ibis," she said rather calmly. "Why would you do something like this?" "I…um…" Lilli started to say, but Ivan cut her off, shouting, "This stupid girl deliberately tried to prevent me and my associate from making off with our prize!" "Did I ask you?" the Violet Goddess asked. As Ivan kept his mouth shut, the Violet Goddess turned to Lilli again. "Now then," she said, "you were saying?"

"Yes, Your Greatness," Lilli said, getting up and walking toward the goddess. The Violet Goddess leaned over to listen intently. "Your Greatness," Lilli started to say, "I…I have a friend. His name is Tintin." "And what does he look like?" The Violet Goddess asked. "He's this…amazing young man, with a ginger quiff, and he has this cute dog, Snowy." Lilli almost choked on her words saying this.

"Anyway," she continued, "the first day he stayed with us, he told us he had this condition, the Norway fever. At first, he seemed fine. But then one day, those two goons poisoned him with a tainted cake. Now my friend is terribly sick, and he's in danger of dying."

"Very well, then," the Violet Goddess told Lilli. "What do you mean to tell me?" "What my friend here is trying to say," John said, "is that we need the healing abilities of the violet ibis in an effort to save this young man." "Hmm," the Violet Goddess muttered, pondering the situation. She paced around for a few minutes, trying to decide if these two were worthy enough to obtain the ibis's healing power.

Suddenly, the Violet Goddess stopped. She faced the group. "The ibis," she said, "can only be granted to individuals that prove themselves to be selfless, courageous, and noble to friends in need. "I have decided who shall be unworthy of obtaining the ibis." She then pointed to Hans and Ivan. "Those men," she declared, "are unworthy of possessing the ibis. And now, their punishment will be…execution."

Hans flinched. "E-execution?" he asked. "You mean…you're going to kill us?" "Any mortal who wishes to obtain the violet ibis is often motivated by their own greed and lack of consideration for others," the Goddess replied. "People with greed in their hearts is unworthy of possessing the ibis for themselves." Ivan leaned over to Hans. "Quick, while they're distracted, make a run for it," he whispered. As soon as Hans and Ivan were sneaking away, two soldiers halted them with their spears as a long, purplish snake appeared, hissing at them.

"Guards," the Violet Goddess commanded, "take those men to that corner over there, and kill them…with the almighty lightning of Thor himself." Lilli and John watched as the female soldiers guided Hans and Ivan to the execution chamber at one corner of the room. With their staffs raised high, lightning began to appear. As dark clouds swirled all around, the women aimed their spears toward Hans and Ivan. And before the two men even had a chance to scream, the two soldiers struck them with lightning, and just like that, Hans and Ivan had disappeared for good.

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"There," the Violet Goddess told Lilli. "Now they will never bother us or you anymore." "Well, I'm glad to hear that as well," John said, relieved to finally be at peace. "In my perspective, I was moved by your story about your little friend," the Goddess told Lilli. "You have, in fact, proven yourself brave, noble, and selfless in obtaining the ibis for a special cause. Therefore, you are worthy to gain the healing abilities of the ibis."

"But I'm still curious," Lilli asked. "But when we tried to get the ibis ourselves, the stem wouldn't cut." "Oh?" the Violet Goddess asked. "You see, when we found the ibis, we tried to cut it off of its resting place," John said. "But the stem refused to cut. How is that even possible?"

"That is an excellent question," the Violet Goddess replied. "Well, here is the answer. The ibis that you tried to take from its pedestal is a decoy." "A decoy?" Lilli asked. "You mean that the ibis we tried to cut off…it was a fake?" "Yes," the Goddess replied guiltily. "We knew that the mortals would stop at nothing to try and find the ibis for themselves, so we had to do something to prevent that from destroying the entity that keeps our realm alive." She then turned to Kairi.

"So this is what we had to do to protect the ibis," the Violet Goddess said. "Kairi here took the real ibis and conjured up an image of the ibis by memory. And as we took the ibis inside of our realm, Kairi here used her magic to conjure up an exact replica of the ibis. In this way, humans could be stumped by the realistic proportions of the ibis, and at the same time, we keep the actual ibis."

"Yes, I suppose that is rather clever of you to think of such a strategy," Lilli said, rather amazed by that statement, "but we really do need the real ibis. My friend Tintin desperately needs me. We have to save him."

"Very well, then," the Violet Goddess said. "Since you want the healing abilities of the ibis, you would have to pass an important test." "A test?" John asked. "Yes," the Goddess replied. She then waved her hand, and from behind John and Lilli, five large mushroom pods sprouted up. Each of them held copies of the violet ibis. "One of these mushroom pods has the actual violet ibis. Choose the correct one, and you will be granted its healing properties," the Goddess instructed. "But you must choose wisely."

"Okay, Lilli. This is it," John whispered. "Any one of these could be the real ibis. If we choose the wrong one, then it'll be too late." Lilli nodded and went to survey the pods. She looked at each replica of the ibis, but she was still indecisive. "If I were Tintin, which one would I choose?" she whispered to herself. As she walked among the ibises, she nodded her head intently. One of them. Just one should do the trick. At last, she made her decision.

"Okay," Lilli said. "I have finally decided." "Hmm?" the Violet Goddess asked questioningly. "I know which ibis it is," Lilli said. "And which one of those is the real ibis itself?" the Goddess asked. Lilli breathed deeply as she exhaled loudly. "The real ibis," she said, pointing to the Goddess's direction, "is the one behind you." The Violet Goddess then backed away slowly, to find the real, true violet ibis suspended in the air. "Lilli, are you sure that's correct?" John asked Lilli.

"That," the Goddess began to say, "is the correct answer. Well done." "Yes!" Lilli whispered in triumph.

"Come with me," the Violet Goddess told Lilli, gesturing for her and John to come forward. As they followed her, the Goddess took a crystal blue bottle from a top shelf and summoned forward the ibis. Using her hands, she let the clear, golden nectar of the ibis trickle softly into the bottle until it was full. "You may take the nectar to heal your friend," the Violet Goddess said, "but I must warn you. The ibis's true power is highly unpredictable, I can't imagine what the effect will be."

As soon as the bottle was filled, the Goddess secured the top and handed it to Lilli. "Do not worry," Lilli said. "As long as Tintin is healed for good."


	14. The Death and Revival

Chapter 14: The Death and Revival

After the preparation, the Violet Goddess then led Lilli and John toward the cave entrance as they prepared to leave. "I sure hope the nectar from the ibis will be enough to be considered a cure for Tintin," Lilli said. "I'm also hoping against all hope that it does help Tintin," John said.

"Do not worry," the Violet Goddess told them. "As I have told you before, the ibis's power may be unpredictable. But I am certain that the ibis's power will work, and that your young friend will be cured in no time." Soon, the three had reached the front entrance of the cave, where they came in from. "Now go," the Goddess told the two. "Go now, and save your little friend! Goodbye! And good luck!"

Lilli and John both bid the Violet Goddess good day. Then, they began to walk back toward their little camp. After they had disappeared, the Violet Goddess slowly floated back into the cave, and then disappeared inside.

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As Lilli and John were strolling through the woods, the break of dawn was slowly approaching. "I just hope that this will make things right for once," Lilli told John. "All I want is for Tintin to be okay." "Okay, but we now have another situation," John reminded her. "Now we don't even know where the others are. And I'm afraid our footsteps have disappeared within the dirt for us to track them back to Tintin." "Well, something is bound to happen in order for us to meet up with them," Lilli said.

Suddenly, the quiet stillness of the air was pierced by a multitude of shrill, violent, hacking coughs. And based on the resonance of their tone, they were male coughs. "Oh no…Tintin!" Lilli exclaimed. "Come on, John! We have to go!" "Way ahead of you!" John said. Soon, the two ran off toward the woods, tracking the coughs as they got louder and louder in tone.

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After traveling through miles of dense forest and shrubbery, Lilli and John tried to locate the sound of the coughing as it increased in volume. Suddenly, John paused. He squinted his eyes to get a better look. He could barely make out the faint silhouette of...Tintin! "Lilli!" John exclaimed. "I see him! I see the others too!" "Let's go now!" Lilli cried out, grasping the bottle. "Hurry, before time runs out!"

Lilli and John raced back to the tree stump, where Thomas, Evan, and Rosalyn were down to their knees, tending to Tintin. Right now, the color had practically washed out of Tintin's body, and Tintin was coughing even sharper than ever. Snowy howled in pain, and Rosalyn put even more pressure on the oxygen mask that Tintin wore round his mouth.

"We're back!" John said, alerting the others at their arrival. "Yes! We have the nectar!" Lilli exclaimed, thrusting the bottle toward Rosalyn. "Okay, give it to me," Rosalyn said. As she grabbed the bottle, she whistled for Evan. "Evan, help me with Tintin!" she demanded as she took the oxygen mask off of Tintin.

Evan listened to her command and ran toward the tree stump, kneeling down next to Tintin. As he held Tintin's head, Rosalyn took the top off of the bottle and gave it to Tintin. Even though he was too weak to pick up his head, Tintin still managed to grab the bottle with both hands. As he grabbed the bottle, Tintin began to drink the nectar until he had swallowed every single drop in one gulp.

"Is it gonna work?" Lilli asked painfully. "There's no telling what could happen," Thomas said to her. "We won't know for sure if the ibis's power is enough to cure Tintin of the Norway fever. If it does work, then Odin help us all if it does." Lilli crossed her fingers in anticipation. "Fingers crossed," Lilli whispered.

Suddenly, Rosalyn began to back away slowly, in fear. "Rosalyn, what's going on?" John asked. "Guys," Rosalyn stuttered, "I…I think you may have come with the cure too late." "What do you mean?" Lilli asked. Then, she gasped. Tintin was now breathing in little, short gasps of breath. Tintin extended his hand toward Snowy, trying to pet him. But then, Tintin's hand slowly dropped. The pulse rate system then uttered a loud, long beep. Tintin closed his eyes and uttered his last breath.

"No," Lilli said tearfully. "I…I don't understand. I…" "I'm sorry, Lilli," Evan told Lilli. "But…but I was sure this would save him," Lilli said, tears filling in her eyes. "Now, he's…" But Lilli couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, and he had now burst into tears. Thomas, Evan, John, and Rosalyn all bowed their heads in mournful solace as Lilli kneeled down next to Tintin. Snowy then began to howl tearfully at the sky.

"Oh, Tintin," Lilli said through her tears. "I…I'm sorry. This was all my fault. I…I did this to you. To us. I…I can't even imagine a world without you." She then burrowed her head into Tintin's chest, sobbing on his pajama shirt. "Please Tintin," she sobbed. "I just want you back! I…I want you back, Tintin." She then continued wrapping her arms around Tintin as she continued crying.

"You…you've always been there for me. I never thought my family could be complete without you, making every day seem…perfect," Lilli cried. "I don't want my whole world crashing down if you don't make it. Please…just come back." The break of dawn was slowly approaching as the sun slowly rose. "I love you," Lilli whispered as the sun was rising.

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As the sun was beginning to rise in the horizon, Thomas and the others felt so guilty about Tintin's untimely fate that they did not hear the whispers in the air. Someone was whispering, a female voice. It crept slowly to Tintin's ear, whispering, "My child. You have proven yourself worthy and noble of the violet ibis's powers. Now, I say unto you…rise!" And just like that, the voice disappeared.

Lilli was still buried in Tintin's chest, gasping and sobbing in broken spasms of breath as she clung to Tintin. Suddenly, Lilli felt something pet her hair. It felt like a human hand. The hands slowly touched her back and ran its fingers through Lilli's hair, as if to comfort her. It was then that Lilli gasped in shock. As she picked up her head, she found Tintin, wide awake and silently giggling.

"Tintin!" Lilli cried out. "You're back!" Tintin then burst out laughing as he embraced Lilli tightly. "Oh, my gosh! I'm cured!" Tintin exclaimed. Lilli could not help but laugh as well. She stared at Tintin's face, which was restored back to normal. "Oh my…Tintin, you've changed!" "Oh, Lilli," Tintin said, with a tear coming to his eye. "We both did." He and Lilli then exchanged hugs as Snowy barked with joy.

"Yes! The ibis worked!" Thomas applauded, laughing as he approached the two. "It's a miracle!" Rosalyn said. "Well, we did it," Evan said. "In all my years of medical practice, I've never seen anything like this." "Aye, but the important thing now is that Tintin is finally cured," Rosalyn added, smiling as Snowy began bouncing up and down, barking happily. "Now all we have to do is never tell anyone else that we used the ibis for Tintin," John replied.

"Oh, my goodness," Tintin stuttered, "I can't believe I'm all better now." He slowly rose to his legs as he struggled to stand. But his bare, shivering legs trembled, and as he took a few unsteady steps, he fell into Thomas's arms. "Whoa, now my legs feel wobbly," Tintin laughed. Then, he paused for a moment. "But, I just don't understand," Tintin asked, wrapping the blanket around his waist to cover his legs. "How could the ibis have taken so long to work its healing magic?"

"Well, have you not noticed it, my child?" a female voice asked. Tintin whirled around, and froze in shock. There, approaching him and holding the violet ibis, was the Violet Goddess! And just as Tintin was about to let out a loud scream, Evan rushed over and covered his mouth in time. "The Violet Goddess!" Lilli exclaimed. "What are you doing here?

"Umm, Lilli," Tintin asked, "who's your friend over there?" "Ah, just in time!" John said, strolling over to Lilli's side. "Tintin, we'd like you to meet the Violet Goddess." The Violet Goddess then stared at Tintin and smiled warmly at him. "Eh, nice to meet you," Tintin stammered nervously, shaking the Goddess's hand. "And it is such a pleasure for me to finally meet you for the first time, my dear," the Violet Goddess replied.

"Violet Goddess," Tintin began to ask. "Hmm?" the Violet Goddess replied. "I really do not quite get it," Tintin asked. "Just tell me, how exactly did the ibis take that long to perform its healing abilities?" "I see," the Violet Goddess replied. "Just as I have told your friend Lilli before, the ibis's power is highly unpredictable. One does not often know if the ibis's true power is capable enough to heal a dying man. But because you were so brave and selfless, it healed you." She then gestured to a newly blooming rose on the ground. "Take this beautiful rose, for instance," the Goddess told Tintin. "Whenever one rose dies, another will bloom so beautifully." It was true, for a rose was bursting its bright pink petals from browning old ones.

"My time here grows short," the Violet Goddess said. "I must head back to the Cave of Wonders. My loyal subjects need me to protect this ibis from further harm." She then turned to face the others, who were waving farewell. "Goodbye! And best wishes to you all!" And after that, she had disappeared into a thin puff of purple stars.

Tintin then took a moment to gaze upon the pink rose blooming from the ground. He then stooped down to sniff the rose. It smelled so sweet, so delicate. Tintin then bent down more and had taken a rather large sniff of the rose. The rose petals brushed against Tintin's face, tickling his nose. Suddenly, his nose began to itch. "Oh my," Tintin said, sniffing. "I-ah, Lilli, I'm-ah…Aah, ah…ah *sniff* aha…ah—Atchoo!" Right as Lilli helped him up, Tintin let out a violent sneeze.

"Tintin?" Lilli asked. "Enh, *sniff* I'm fine, really," Tintin said, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. Suddenly, he could not help but start laughing. Soon enough, Lilli and Thomas, along with the others, began to laugh.

Soon enough, Lilli and Tintin, along with the others, began trekking up the path from where they had traveled upon and toward the ship. Since Tintin was finally well enough to be up and walking again, Evan lent him some spare shoes he had with him, to keep his bare feet clean. As the adults were starting the ship's engine, Tintin sat alone on the upper deck, cradling Snowy in his arms. As soon as the ship casted off, Lilli and Thomas joined Tintin on the deck.

"Lilli," Tintin started to say. "Y-yes?" Lilli asked. "I…I just wanted to thank you. For, um, what you did there to save me," Tintin said. "That's sweet of you, Tintin," Lilli said, sitting down next to Tintin. "You know, you could've done the same for me if it were me suffering the same fate as you did." "I overheard what you said about me after that scare," Tintin said. "You did?" Thomas asked, eyeing Lilli. "Well," Tintin told them, "to be very honest…I can't really imagine a world without you two to support me." "We wouldn't either," Lilli said. Then, she and Tintin embraced each other for a period of time.

After a brief moment of silence, Tintin's stomach growled loud enough for Lilli to her right away. Tintin heard the noise, frowned, and asked, "Um Lilli, forgive me for asking, but…do you guys have any food on this ship?" "Huh?" Lilli asked. "I want something to eat right now. I'm starving," Tintin said. "But you weren't when you were sick!" Lilli laughed. She and Tintin began to laugh as Thomas brought Tintin some food, and they continued to laugh the whole journey home.


	15. The Victory and Farewell

Chapter 15: The Victory and Farewell

Now it seemed as if the entire Hardanger community had heard of Lilli and the others journeying to the island to find the ibis to cure Tintin. When the ship had arrived back at the docks, Tintin and Lilli, along with the others, found themselves welcomed by a huge throng of people. They applauded cheerfully as they got down from the ship. Perhaps they were happy to hear that Tintin no longer had the Norway fever, and he was finally alive and well.

"I have to admit it, it finally does feel good to feel better at last," Tintin told Lilli. "Well, I'm glad we were able to save you," Lilli said as she petted Snowy. "I didn't know what I would do without you," Tintin said. "I would never imagine a world without Snowy, or anyone else, in particular." "We wouldn't either," Thomas said, patting Tintin on the head.

Evan was happy to find his van still together as he walked to it. After John and Rosalyn managed to climb on, Evan called out to Thomas, saying, "You three need a ride somewhere?" "Yes," Thomas said. "Come, you two." As they all got on, Evan asked Thomas, "Where to?" "The restaurant we went to the other day," Thomas replied with a smile. "Tintin still needs to eat." "I do?" Tintin asked. "Yes, you only ate a piece of bread while we were on the ship," Lilli said. "Okay," Tintin said shyly. "Guess I needed more than enough food to fill me up." "Oh Tintin," Thomas said, ruffling Tintin's hair.

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Soon after a few minutes of driving into the town square, the van had finally pulled up to a place that Tintin found oddly familiar. It was the Sveidheld's Pub, the same restaurant and pub that he and Lilli went to with Thomas on the day of the Falling Stars Festival. It still looked better as it was before. As soon as the three had gotten off the van, Thomas told Evan, "Thank you for everything." "Anytime, Mr. Syvertson," Evan told him. "Well, we got to go. Still have to make it back to the office." He then drove off, with John and Rosalyn waving from inside.

After the van had driven off, Thomas turned to Tintin. "Now then," he said, "you still hungry?" "Um…I guess so," Tintin said. "Still have to keep up your strength, eh?" "But," Tintin asked, "I doubt that they'd even let me inside wearing these." Tintin stretched out his pajama shirt. "Oh, don't worry," Lilli said as they proceeded inside. "You'll be fine."

As they walked inside, they were welcomed by the restaurant attendants applauding cheerfully. "Um, why are you all clapping?" Tintin asked. "You didn't think we would miss this day?" one man asked. "Why, we're clapping for you!" another man said. Two burly men both raised their glasses in happiness. "We knew you had the Norway fever since you came here," the bartender told Tintin, "and we just knew that the ibis should work for you. We're all happy to see that you're still alive and well!"

As the three sat down at a nearby table, Tintin shuffled his feet around nervously, tapping his fingers on the hard surface. Nobody seemed to regard his clothes or even criticized the way he was dressed. All seemed perfectly safe.

After a few minutes, a waiter appeared before Thomas and Lilli, bringing in a rather large platter of food. "Here you go, Tintin," Thomas told Tintin, handing him a plate of roast with potatoes and carrots, along with a bowl of soup. Lilli then proceeded to serve herself, while Thomas served the drinks. But just as Tintin was about to eat, he noticed Thomas and Lilli bowing their heads. "Um…is something wrong?" Tintin asked. However, he decided not to question it and he bowed his head in silence. Then, he softly muttered, "Violet Goddess, thank you for…for saving my life."

Soon, the family was able to eat. "That was one crazy adventure I would never forget," Thomas said. "Just seeing the poor boy dying from a disease really gave me quite the scare. But at least we were able to bring him back to life." Lilli smiled. "And now we're here, back home, and eating supper with you," Lilli told Tintin. "This feels so good," Tintin said, biting into a piece of bread. "I can never imagine having this much fun with a family like you." Thomas beamed with pride.

After taking a brief moment from eating his food, Tintin then reached for his glass. Thomas and Lilli saw this and began to copy him. So did the other attendants of the restaurant. "To the Violet Goddess!" Tintin exclaimed. "To the Violet Goddess!" Thomas, Lilli, and the others shouted. As Tintin brought the glass to his mouth, he slowly took a short sip of his beverage. After putting down his glass, Tintin sighed with relief. "Hic!" Tintin exclaimed. "Hic! Hic! Hic!" "And you still manage to get the hiccups!" Lilli laughed. "What are the odds?" She and Thomas, along with the others, began to laugh. Tintin laughed as well, but as broken gasps and hiccups in between.

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After the meal, Lilli and Thomas, along with Tintin and Snowy, managed to get a ride on a lorry returning to the farm. After riding a few moments on the lorry, the three continued the trek up the path on foot. As they arrived back to the farm, Thomas smiled in anticipation. The farmhouse stilled stood, and it looked better as it was before.

"Good to finally be back on the farm again," Thomas said. "Now everything is back to the way it was before." "I do feel as if the farmhouse really felt like home," Tintin replied, happy to finally relax for once. "Okay then," Thomas said. "Lilli, I think Tintin here should be cleaned up again, eh? Go to the barn and give Tintin a bath. He has to look sharp for when he returns to his country later on today." "What?" Tintin asked, a bit surprised. "Well, don't you have other things to do back in your country?" Lilli asked. "Oh, right, I forgot about that," Tintin said, shrugging.

Inside the barn, Lilli immediately strode over to the wash basin to get the water started. "Tintin, can you…" Lilli started to say, but Tintin cut her off, saying, "I know, go over to the stalls and take off my clothes, right? I knew that." By then, Tintin went to the nearby stall and closed the door behind him. Now he didn't mind taking off his clothes in front of the animals. As Tintin took off his shorts, he watched to see if any of the animals would stare. Except for the chickens, who were peeping at him.

After taking off his clothes, Tintin then managed to get inside the basin to bathe. Snowy began to run, but Tintin grabbed him in time. "Hey, you need a bath too, you know," Tintin said. As he put Snowy in the bath, he began to rub Snowy's fur with water as Lilli began washing his hair. "This feels so nice," Tintin told Lilli. "Especially now that I'm finally cured of my illness." "At least you're better now," Lilli said, smiling. Snowy, meanwhile, was fumbling around in the water when Tintin splashed gave off a protesting woof as Tintin laughed.

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Minutes later, after coming back inside the house and drying himself off, Tintin was back in his room, dressed in a brand new shirt and trousers. As he was busy putting his clothes in his suitcase, Snowy bounded into the room as Lilli came inside. "You are packing already?" Lilli asked. "Have you finished yet?" "Yes, I'm almost done," Tintin replied. "Good," Lilli said. As Tintin closed the suitcase shut, he turned to Lilli. "Close your eyes and follow me," Lilli told Tintin. "Dad and I have a surprise for you in the kitchen."

Tintin then shut his eyes and took Lilli's hand as she led him downstairs. "No peeking," Lilli said. "Oop, stairwell!" "Ow!" Tintin exclaimed as he bumped his waist against the stairwell. "You know, you're not a very good blindfold guide." He then began nursing his bruised waist as he continued down the stairs. As soon as Lilli and Tintin were at the kitchen, Lilli left Tintin standing by the doorway.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" Lilli said. "Okay," Tintin said, opening his eyes. "But just what is that you wanted to show…?" Tintin paused mid-sentence and gasped, for he saw Thomas and Lilli unfurl a large, beautiful tapestry embroidered with elongated knot designs, and flowers in different shades of purple and gold. But at the center of the tapestry was an embroidered image of Tintin holding hands with the Violet Goddess. Both had their eyes closed, with the violet ibis between them at the center.

Suddenly, Tintin began to cry silently. Big tears welled up in his eyes as they rolled down his cheeks. Lilli noticed this and grabbed Tintin gently by the shoulders. "Tintin, what's the matter?" Lilli asked. "What's wrong?" "Oh, I'm *sniff* I'm fine," Tintin said, wiping his eye. "That tapestry is so beautiful." "So…does that mean you like it?" Thomas asked. "Yes," Tintin said softly. "I love it. It's the best gift I've ever gotten."

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A few hours later, Thomas and Lilli had driven Tintin to the Oslo harbor, since they heard there was ship that would be departing for Brussels. Tintin had tucked the folded tapestry safely in his suitcase. As they got off the truck, Tintin took a moment to reflect with Thomas and Lilli before the ship left the port. Thomas even got a passenger to take a photo of him with Lilli, Tintin, and Snowy for him to keep.

"Tintin," Lilli said, "I just wanted to thank you for all your help back at the farm. It really felt as if our family were complete again. I wish you could stay a little longer." "It was no trouble," Tintin said. "I wish we could stay too. But we have to take care of things back home. Snowy here will really miss you guys." Snowy whimpered sadly as Lilli gave him a hug, which made him feel a little better. Tintin then wore his blue crystal ibis necklace round his neck. As he embraced Lilli, Lilli told him, "You have a safe journey home."

Tintin then turned to Thomas. "Well," Tintin said, with tears in his eyes, "I guess this is where we part ways." "Tintin," Thomas said, caressing Tintin's face, "way before you came here, my wife…she always wanted a little boy, for Lilli to love. And you, Tintin…you've always felt like a son to me. To Lilli, you were like the brother she never had." With tears rolling down his cheeks, Tintin embraced Thomas for a long time. "I'm going to miss you," Tintin sobbed. Thomas rubbed Tintin's back gingerly, saying, "Don't cry. We'll keep in touch someday."

Suddenly, an old Norse bugle horn sounded off from nearby. "All aboard!" the ship steward shouted. "Last call for all passengers to Brussels!" "Sounds like that's for you," Thomas said, sending Tintin toward the ship. "Goodbye," Tintin said as he began walking up the steps to the ship, with Snowy tagging along.

As the ship rumbled to life, Tintin began to wave goodbye to Thomas and Lilli as they ran along the docks to say farewell. Snowy barked a farewell to them as the ship casted off toward the horizon. As Tintin gazed at the sky above him, he smiled. Being sick made him realize he was that close to a near-death experience. But now that the violet ibis had endowed him with its incredible healing powers, he was happy to have been cured from an untimely fate. As Norway was beginning to grow distant, Tintin felt happy that he had been saved by the power of the Violet Goddess.

The End


End file.
